Isle of Wight RFC returned to winning ways with a commanding 52-14 victory over Ellingham & Ringwood II at Wootton Rec on Saturday afternoon.
Sunshine greeted both sides at Wootton, but it took the hosts 12 minutes to find their rhythm following several enforced changes to the starting XV.
After sustained early pressure, Luke Blackman broke the line and fed hooker Sam McQueen to score close to the uprights. The hosts soon followed that with arguably their best move of the match, full-back George Huish finishing sharply after a flowing multi-phase attack.
Man of the Match Fin Vickers controlled matters efficiently from scrum-half, while flanker David Blackman was once again a relentless presence at the breakdown.
Huish then struck again after fielding a clearance kick, running it back with pace and purpose to cross almost untouched. The bonus point was secured inside 25 minutes when McQueen intercepted deep inside his own half and showed surprising speed for a front-row forward to sprint clear, fending off the final defender to score.
With Huish converting, the Islanders surged into a 28-0 lead.
However, as the outcome began to look certain, standards dipped. Isle of Wight drifted from their patterns and found themselves frequently on the wrong side of the referee’s whistle. Ben Savill was shown a yellow card following a scrum reset, and Ellingham & Ringwood capitalised on slack defence to get on the scoreboard.
The hosts regained composure before the break, their dominant scrum laying the platform for number eight Joe Bussell to power over. Huish maintained a perfect record from the tee, converting all five first-half tries.
Half-time: Isle of Wight 35-7 Ellingham & Ringwood II.
If the first half had been disjointed at times, the second offered little improvement in cohesion despite the Islanders’ superiority.
The scrum remained a weapon and Bussell claimed his second try from a pushover effort. Captain Luke Blackman then led by example, taking a direct route and bulldozing through contact to add another.
Huish completed his hat-trick as Isle of Wight brought up the half-century, his personal tally reaching 27 points with six successful conversions.
The final quarter became increasingly scrappy. A succession of penalties marched the hosts back downfield, and two contentious yellow cards were issued to replacement George Amer and then Huish as Ellingham & Ringwood pressed for consolation.
Despite several eye-catching tackles from wing Ted Southgate, the visitors eventually forced their way over for a second try late on.
Full-time: Isle of Wight 52-14 Ellingham & Ringwood II.
While the comprehensive scoreline extends Isle of Wight’s unbeaten home run to six matches and lifts them into second place in the table, there will be acknowledgement that the overall performance lacked fluency and discipline.
The Islanders now travel to Tottonians II next Saturday.
The club thanked Man of the Match sponsor Ollie Boulter and match ball sponsor Paul Fincham.
Isle of Wight: Huish, Wynyard-Wright, Marsh, Sanderson, J Bishop, L Blackman, Vickers, Thorne, McQueen, Savill, Blackburn, D Bishop, Bennett, D Blackman, Bussell Replacements: Amer, Webster, Southgate.
