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13 October 2018 / Club News

Match Report - Crumlin v Rogerstone 13th October 2018

Crumlin V Rogerstone                                    13th October 2018.

 

“Absolutely spell blinding” Some of the tries scored in today’s 50-14 victory of a visiting Rogerstone were nothing short of spell blinding.

After the threat of the bad weather calling a halt to the game before Saturday had even arrived the sun certainly shone on the home team today with a performance befitting the one sided scoreline.

The visiting side arrived clearly littered with a host of competent players and obvious signs of experience. They certainly came to play and showed their signs of intent from the off with aggressive passages of play in both defence and attack. A willingness to be aggressive at the breakdown with an organised counter ruck paid dividends and they secured the upper hand. It was the visitors who scored first after a well constructed passive of play which saw the strong running of the forwards interlinking nicely with the backs to trundle up the field to score. 0-7 after 10 minutes.

With the wind up their back, it was the turn of the home side to string a few phases of their own and with the “ever ready” back line always prepared to go, it wasn’t long before home side had drew level and edged in front.

From a coaching perspective, the second try was a delight. A rehearsed move straight off the training ground saw the Crumlin pack secure a quick heel at the scrum. Some sharp passing between the half back pairing of Rob Clayton and Ethan Chess and outer movement from the centres saw a gap open up for right wing Taylor Smith to waltz through untouched somewhat reminiscence of a galloping Alex Cuthbert.

This was far from Taylor’s final contribution of the afternoon. With the home team taking their chances, the powerful wing was given the ball just inside his own half. With plenty of work still left to do and the covering defence breathing down his neck, he showed plenty of composure to pick his way to the line to score an outstanding solo effort. The pick of the afternoon’s tries.

There was time for some additional points before the break and a beautiful show and go from number 10 Ethan Chess saw him glide through before converting his own effort and securing the bonus point before the break.

Rogerstone were not done. They still had plenty of steam in the tank and showed a steely determination to work in a try and conversion of their own before the break going in 28-14 behind.

The home team knew the visitors were going to come hard with the second half advantage of the elements, but unfortunately, this didn’t last long. Another try from Taylor Smith saw him secure his hat rick and everyone had the feeling the game was in the bag.

The rain started to fall and the wind started to blow. The strong southerly was not the only thing which was gusting as the shrill blast of the referee’s whistle soon became the dominant force as the game became littered with errors. The referee in fairness kept control of a decent game with some aplomb and played advantage where possible despite the constant risk of the handling errors.

A few players to mention on their merit. Garrod Fry had a busy game in the back row, the Sheppard Brothers behind the scrum looked solid in defence and provided a bit of go forward with support’a’plenty.

Kyle Walton showed his eagerness with another performance of note with plenty of direct running and solid hits. His afternoon’s efforts were rewarded with a try under the sticks which he cheekily converted himself with a drop goal.

With one more play to come, there was still time for another score. A deep kick was well fielded and the rushing Rogerstone team rolled up apply the pressure. Clearing his line, Jason Sheppard hoofed up a high ball in field and what should have been a bread and butter catch, the Rogy player spilled. Before the referee had time to blow for the knock on, the ball was pounced on and the move was on. A few quick passes and the ball found its way into Ethan Chess’ hands who had one thing on his mind. With all of the exuberance of youth, the young 10 went on a looping run to score a lovely solo effort from 65 yards to bring up the half century.

 

Overall, a fantastic game to watch which was well refereed. Both teams played their part and I’m sure the return fixture will be just as entertaining.

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