It was a day of contrasting emotions down at Watcombe Bottom for the 2 Ventnor sides taking to the pitch on Saturday afternoon.
The response to the John Adams Memorial Match took the club completely by surprise and the numbers that showed up from the very get-go was a demonstration – if any was needed – of the high regard in which John was held.
Events commenced with a welcoming drink from John’s family – Jeannette, George, Diane, Lois and Andy – and with some wonderful and emotional words about John from George and Stuart Babington.
The Memorial Match kicked off promptly at 13:15 with Ventnor’s squad resplendent in their new kit sponsored by Wight Shipyards.
Michael Cooper’s Sandown & Shanklin and Isle of Wight combined Barbarians were soon on top with the midfield trio of Gary Warfield, Cooper and Rob Newton asking all sorts of questions and the Babas had soon scored 3 converted tries before halftime. But it all turned round in the second half when Ventnor came back strongly with tries from James Green and Fred Fairman.
Notable aspects of the game were guest appearances from George Creighton and Ben Cooper from our round-ball friends at Ventnor Football Club and the remarkable sight of Nigel Malkin swapping his referee’s whistle for the hooker’s shirt whilst a bemused Fergus Kenny took over the officiating! The result was a deserved win for the Babas.
Dan Greaves very deservedly took the A J Wells Man of the Match award whilst Tommy Engelgardt received the Red Funnel Moment of the Match award for swapping his sandals for boots and having a run out when he had sworn he wouldn’t.
Ventnor’s squad: James Blake (captain), Jake Babington, Gary Ball, Harry Colson, Jason Coltham, Ben Cooper, George Creighton, Chris Dobbas, Tom Engelgardt, Fred Fairman, Oscar Fitzgerald, Mike Flanagan, Alan Fox, Gareth Gough, Dan Greaves, James Green, Cameron Griggs, Fergus Kenny, Charlie Magnurson, Dean Magnurson, James Morley, Steve Maskell, Warren Riches, Jack Rushton and Tom Wells.
Full time: Ventnor 14- 21 Barbarians
The Hants Counties 3 league game kicked off at 15:00 in which a hard-working Ventnor 1st XV suffered a comprehensive loss (59 – 0) against a Havant 3rd XV brisling with players that had regularly and recently performed at a higher league.
There were some notable performances, none less than from Tristan Price and George Collett in Ventnor’s front row who more than held their own against the power of the opposition. Meanwhile the Wheeler brothers had an ‘interesting’ day with Harvey getting a yellow card for a kerfuffle in which, it was gratifying to see, his mates supported him with gusto and with Max taking a head to the face and ending up in Portsmouth for stitches in a nasty mouth injury.
Mention must be made of Hampshire referee Keith Dubbins who quickly picked up on the mismatch of the sides and officiated the game with real empathy and perception.
The hard-running Dan Bell took the A J Wells Man of the Match award whilst skipper Jewy Jones took the Red Funnel Moment of the Match award because he had a terrible thirst!
Ventnor’s 1st XV: George Collett, Lewis Jones (captain), Tristan Price, Andy Teague, Joel Walton, Lewis Morton, Harvey Wheeler, Dan Bell, Louis Malkin, Luke Butler, Jake Babington, Max Wheeler, Sam Lines, Ed Blake and Chris Cardwell-Hill. Subs: Andy Addison, George Finan and Cory Turner. Coaches: Jason Evans, Fergus Kenny and Clive Cardwell-Hill. Physio: Emily Faithfull.
Full time: Ventnor 1st XV 0 – 59 Havant 3rd XV
