Gosport & Fareham U13 B Team Win Comfortably on the Road

The B squad continued their impressive start to the season with another emphatic win, this time away to Salisbury B. Played in the fantastic setting of Chafyn Grove School, the game got off to a scrappy start, with both teams knocking on and throwing crooked line-outs, which made it difficult to get any momentum going. However, Gosport still managed to create attacking opportunities and their forward dominance, which was to be a feature of the game, allowed outside half, Hugo Marshall to score after just three minutes. A solid tackle from outside centre, Rhys Morgan, led to a turnover for Gos, the referee played a penalty advantage for a Salisbury infringement and Gosport made the most of it, spreading the ball wide for Marshall to score in the corner.
The Gosport forwards were winning the battle at the breakdown and turned over a lot of Salisbury ball, which made it difficult for them to string enough phases together to achieve any real penetration. James Rowe made an excellent break mid-way through the first half, punching a hole in the Salisbury defence, the ball was taken on, lost, then subsequently turned over again. Gosport then drove through the Salisbury defence with a well-executed rolling maul, pushing the home side back over their own try line and allowing Christopher Wallis to touch down for Gosport's second try. Patrick “Patch” Symington added the two points with his second successful conversion.
Gosport were playing with real confidence, with strong tackles going in all over the pitch and the backs coming out on top in the kicking battle. Cameron Holling and Matthew “Dids” Symington, in particular, were comfortable under the high ball and Marshall was kicking well from hand.
Yet another line break, this time from Wallis, created the next opportunity for Gosport. Salisbury managed to stop him eventually but were penalised for a high tackle as Gosport drove on. The resulting tap penalty meant that Gos could once again employ the driving maul to great effect for Matthew “Curly” Freeman to score in the corner. Patch nailed the last of his three conversions – a healthy 50% strike rate from difficult positions out near the touch line.
Those of us watching barely had time to draw breath when Gosport were on the attack again. Salisbury won a line-out on their own throw then turned the ball over, thanks again to some excellent loose play from the Gosport forwards. James Rowe made the most of the possession and the gaps in the Salisbury defence to make a clean break and score in the corner for his first and Gosport's fourth.
At the break, Salisbury made ten changes to their side; the Gosport coaches had some tough choices to make to ensure all the players got a game. Scott Craik, James Cutler and Ethan Carpenter all played well but made way for Jack Haggard, Sam Hudson and Matthew “Sparky” Sparshott, with Tom Collins moving from inside centre to scrum half.
Gosport started strongly again in the second half, again using the driving maul to great effect as a platform from which to launch an attach down the left flank. Salisbury managed to turn the ball over but kicked away possession. Dids Symington gathered the ball from deep and ran down the right wing to score a superb solo try.
Tom Collins then gathered from the restart to run the ball 30 metres unopposed before he was finally tackled. Gosport retained possession through several phases, then knocked on to hand possession back to Salisbury before stealing it back yet again. A great forward drive in the Salisbury 22 led to another explosive break from Rowe, who nearly set up another score. George Crouch, who had been instrumental in securing possession throughout the game, particularly in the loose, picked up from the ruck and drove over but was denied as the ball was held up. Gos were awarded a five yard scrum, secured their own ball and Rowe picked up to score in corner.
Gosport continued to dominate and, while Salisbury put together several phases deep in the Gosport half, the defence held firm. Salisbury, to their credit, didn't give up but the Gosport players were determined to keep them out and maintain their perfect record. The only slight worry came late on as one of the Salisbury players fended off Cameron Holling to the throat (albeit unintentionally) but Cameron was ok and able to carry on after a minute or so.
The Salisbury coaches named Rhys Morgan as Man of the Match, with an honourable mention for James Rowe, although any one of a number of players could have been in contention. A special mention goes to the Salisbury contingent for a sporting match and hospitable welcome and to Chafyn Grove School, who provided excellent facilities for the match and post-match meal.