Isle of Wight RFC made a winning start to their delayed league campaign with a 5-try victory over Overton at Wootton Rec on Saturday.
The Islanders produced an increasingly impressive performance in front of a large home crowd, although Overton enjoyed plenty of possession and made their hosts work hard for the victory.
IW’s start to the season had been delayed by the effects of the summer drought, leaving them without even a pre-season fixture, and some early handling errors perhaps reflected their lack of match practice.
However, it took the home side less than 5 minutes to open the scoring. An Overton mistake was seized upon and the ball worked to the returning Dan Ward, who showed his pace to burst through the disorganised defence before converting his own try (7-0).
There was little between the teams for much of the opening half. Overton enjoyed their share of possession but struggled at the lineout, while IW proved particularly effective at the breakdown.
Captain Luke Blackman led the defensive effort with 3 turnovers, while Harri Jones-Evans produced a couple of crunching tackles to halt promising Overton attacks.
On the half-hour mark, Jones-Evans made his impact at the other end. IW turned over possession before moving the ball quickly wide, allowing the powerful centre to finish the move. Ward converted to double the Islanders’ advantage (14-0).
Half Time: Isle of Wight 14-0 Overton
Despite trailing by 2 tries, Overton had been very much in the contest and began the 2nd half strongly, spending much of the opening 10 minutes camped inside the IW 22.
The Islanders defended stubbornly but were eventually breached in the 50th minute when Overton crossed for a converted try (14-7).
With momentum apparently swinging towards the visitors, IW responded immediately and produced their best spell of rugby.
Full-back George Huish made a purposeful break down the left and found support from Jones-Evans. Overton initially appeared to have snuffed out the danger, only for Cameron Browne to spot an opportunity at the resulting ruck and dart away from the defence to score (19-7).
The Islanders were now playing with increasing confidence, combining some excellent offloading with strong support running. Ben Sanderson dispossessed an Overton carrier and, following a couple more phases, Huish found enough space to cross in the corner for the bonus-point try (26-7).
Overton continued to battle, but IW were beginning to gain the upper hand at the scrum after an evenly matched contest between the packs.
Blackman then produced a thrilling break into opposition territory before offloading to Huish, who raced over for his 2nd try of the afternoon. Ward converted for the 4th time to complete the scoring (33-7).
The final margin was harsh on an Overton side who had competed strongly, particularly during the opening half and immediately after the interval, but IW were far more clinical when opportunities came their way.
Full Time: Isle of Wight 33-7 Overton
Isle of Wight: Huish, Marsh, Jones-Evans, Sanderson, Browne, Ward, Hanson, Hart, McQueen, Newnham, Savill, J Bishop, Turtle, D Blackman, L Blackman (c). Replacements: Wynyard-Wright, Vickers, Mutsinze.
Biffa IW Man of the Match: Harri Jones-Evans.
Red Funnel Man of the Match: Luke Blackman.
Isle of Wight travel to Ellingham & Ringwood on Saturday for their next league fixture.
