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5 Point Win away For Gos

5 Point Win away For Gos

Tim Holling31 Mar 2019 - 15:28
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https://www.gosportrugby.club/

Effingham & Leatherhead 17 - 33 Gosport & Fareham

A week of changes for the teams, including moving training grounds and how we prepared for a bottom of the table clash. Due to a defect at Gosport with the flood lights resulted us training at a new location, this allowed the players to refocus their minds as it is a new location with different lights and size pitch (bigger). The Tuesday night session also included a discussion as to what we want to achieve for the last two fixtures, everyone was in agreement 10 points for the 1s and 2 two victories for the 2s.

Due to injuries and availabilities both teams saw new faces and established players playing in different positions, however again it allowed all of the players to re-focus as they had to think differently and they would be working in new sub units, so they needed to build those understandings. The 1s welcomed players making their debuts, JJ Flynn, Darren Reddin and Joe Collard, they brought a new energy to the team, we also welcomed back Darren Pankhurst into the fold. The 2s gave eight Colts the opportunity to play senior rugby before they make that transition from age grade rugby to the adult game.

Prior to leaving Gosport park, some followers of Gosport & Fareham RFC were down to wish the team well and try to inspire them to obtaining that much needed victory, one of these being local Football referee but keen follower of G&F Al Gower.

It was a bright calm day at Effingham and the pitches were firm. Preparations were a little bit nervy due to the importance of the game but we should we have the potential and the players to achieve the overall goal, first away win of the season. The home tried to unsettle our preparations by changing the pitch we would be playing on 40 minutes before kick off, but we continued with our preparations and adapted to meet the change in circumstances.
Gosport & Fareham would receive the kick off, which would allow us to have possession first and try and stamp our authority on the game, unfortunately the nervousness of the warm up had transferred into the game, however we slowly built into the game.

The whole game was scrappy and disjointed, this was down to the oppositions aggressive, sometimes overly aggressive approach to the game. It was evident to see that G&F had the superior line-out, both in attack and defence and the scrum was a dominant force, however due to the oppositions tactics we could not make it the attacking weapon we wanted to. We did start to increase the tempo and retain possession which in turn, turned into territory, so from an attacking scrum, we went through the phases and Aiden Price crossed in the corner to make the score 0-5.

After the re-start we lost our focus slightly and allowed the opposition to build up a period of pressure, which resulted in our line-speed dropping off allowing them to have front foot ball, which eventually resulting in Effingham and Leatherhead scoring under the posts. During this period of pressure Gosport were down to 14 men as Dean McNaught was injured after a stray boot connected with his jaw, he did try to play on but unfortunately the pain was too much and he had to be replaced not long after the restart, this resulted in a re-suffle of the team, Matt Forfar came into the 9 position and Wes Dugan went into Blindside Flanker, this being his 5th position this year.

We got a foot hold in the game again and stole some of the opposition line-out, which resulted in some good continuity and Jordan Carter ran over un-touched and this time converted by Dane Smallbone to make the score 7-12. This gave the team the confidence to push up in defence and run strong and hard at the opposition, no more than debutant JJ Flynn who used his strength and powered over the line and again successfully converted by Dane Smallbone, making it 5-19. Unfortunately our tackling was not as accurate as we would have liked and it resulted in Trev Westerman receiving a yellow card for accumulative high tackles by the team. Whilst this tested our defensive structure the team stood strong and resisted the oppositions continuous attacks, so much so our line speed caused confusion and panic in Effinghams handling.

This pressure resulted in Dane Smallbone making an interception and running 60 metres to score, and once recovered he took the successful conversion to make the score 7-26 going into half time. The opposition continued to try and make the numerical advantage pay but some strong work at the breakdown saw Daniel O’Donoghue gain a penalty which allowed us to clear our lines and relief the pressure. It was at this point that tensions grew and the opposition brought an increased level of niggle to the game, however credit to the players they did not react to it.

The second half saw us continue with 14 players until Westermans’s yellow card was served. The opposition made some tactical changes and started to apply more pressure to our defensive line, this pressure resulted in the penalty count against Gosport and Fareham rise. Just as Westerman’s yellow card was served we were given a second yellow card, for killing the ball, this saw Wes Dugan removed from the field of play. This pressure eventually lead to the opposition scoring out wide, this was pleasing to see that they could not break our defensive line and had to work very hard for their score. Having to play 60 minutes with 14 men started to show as some players were showing signs of fatigue, which unfortunately resulted in Effingham and Leatherhead score their 3rd try.

Some tactical changes were made and the players regrouped, unfortunately so did the niggle from the opposition, however we looked after each other and we held our composure and discipline unlike the opposition who over stepped the mark and were reduced to 14 men for the remainder of the game due to a yellow card. During this period we scored our 5th try of the game and used quick hands in the back line with forwards and backs working together to see Rory Penfold cross and successfully converted by Dane Smallbone, 17-33 to G&F. Drawing on the experienced players we managed the last remaining minutes of the game and secured our first away victory of the season.

What was pleasing to see was the fight which was missing in our last game. This has given us the chance to secure our league status, we need to win with a try bonus point in our last game of the season, which is at home. The deficit is 4 points to London Exiles, however we do have a superior win ratio over them.

The 2s had a very good result at home against local rivals Portsmouth RFC, with Iain Grice scoring 2 tries.

Come along and show your support next week at Gosport Park for our last home game of the season.

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