Ventnor’s 2nd XV recorded an emphatic 55-19 victory over Trojans on Saturday (17th October), while the 1st XV suffered a heavy defeat at New Milton.
Both matches were preceded by tributes to 19-year-old Trojans prop Jacob Smith, who died earlier in the week. The number 3 jersey was retired for both fixtures as a mark of respect.
VENTNOR 2NDS CELEBRATE FIRST WIN OF SEASON
Ventnor’s 2nd XV secured their first victory of the Counties 6 campaign with a convincing home performance against Trojans at Watcombe Bottom.
The Islanders took the lead inside 2 minutes after Cody Hayman’s tackle forced a penalty. Captain Jack Gilbey took it quickly, advancing 5 metres before passing to Max Wheeler, who crossed for the opening try.
Alex Morton and Henrik Brown repeatedly troubled the Trojans defence, while Luke Starkey and Ross Harris helped keep the visitors under pressure.
Fred Fairman, Tony Jacobson and Elvan Smallcombe added further tries as Ventnor established a commanding lead, although Trojans responded with 2 scores of their own before the interval.
Half Time: Ventnor 27-10 Trojans 2nd XV
Ventnor continued to attack after the restart, with Gavin Ford and Alan Fox finding space on the wings.
Ben Westbrook crossed for another try before Gavin Davis followed him over the line, assisted by the work of Tom Engelgardt and Brad Francis in the build-up.
Trojans managed to add to their tally, but Ventnor remained in control and finished with 55 points to secure a welcome victory after their difficult start to the season.
Full Time: Ventnor 55-19 Trojans 2nd XV
A J Wells Man of the Match: Ben Westbrook.
Red Funnel Moment of the Match: Brad Francis.
After the final whistle, players from both clubs gathered for a photograph with the retired number 3 jersey in memory of Jacob Smith.
The result leaves Ventnor’s 2nd XV in mid-table in Counties 6 ahead of their visit to Christchurch on Saturday (24th October).
VENTNOR 1STS OVERPOWERED BY NEW MILTON
Ventnor’s first away fixture since winning promotion to Counties 2 ended in a 59-10 defeat against New Milton, who are expected to challenge for the league title.
The hosts opened the scoring after 6 minutes, moving the ball from the back of a scrum before finding a way through the Ventnor defence.
Ed Blake replied for the Islanders, spotting a gap and crossing after Arran Robinson’s lineout had brought Ventnor within 5 metres of the try line.
Alec Bulpitt and Jason Coltham contested possession at the breakdown, while half-backs Josh Ford and Beau Bridgeman brought Hayden Lythgoe and Luke Butler into the attack.
New Milton nevertheless proved difficult to contain and had built a substantial advantage by half time.
Half Time: New Milton 34-5 Ventnor
Ventnor began the second half more positively, with Will Broomfield and Pat Banks gaining territory and Dan Lythgoe and Jack Rushton putting pressure on the New Milton scrum.
The visitors scored again when Riley Lloyd advanced with the ball before Rhys Cole found Lewy Morton, who crossed for Ventnor’s second try.
Ben Souter, Harvey Wheeler and Max Henley were kept busy in defence as New Milton continued to create chances, eventually taking their total to 59 points.
Full Time: New Milton 59-10 Ventnor
A J Wells Man of the Match: Hayden Lythgoe.
Red Funnel Moment of the Match: Lewy Morton.
Ventnor coach Damien Marriott acknowledged the quality of the opposition and the challenges facing his newly promoted side.
Firstly, credit to New Milton. They’re a very good rugby side, and I’d fully expect them to be up there competing for the league title come the end of the season.
We knew when we earned promotion that Counties 2 was going to be a big step up, and there would be difficult afternoons along the way. Saturday was certainly one of those.
There are plenty of positives in our performances over recent weeks, but we know we weren’t at the standards we’ve set ourselves, particularly defensively.
We’re not going to dwell on one result. We’re learning, we’re improving, and these are exactly the challenges we wanted when we earned promotion.
We’ve got two massive games coming up, and I’m confident in this group. We’ll take the lessons from Saturday, put things right and go again.
Ventnor return to Watcombe Bottom to face Southampton RFC on Saturday (24th October).
