Ventnor 2XV travelled to Farnham at the weekend for a rearranged fixture with Fareham 4XV, one which was to be played in torrential conditions.
Boulstered by Jason Corney – a former Islander and now Andover player – and given 2 players by the opponents, Ventnor looked to get into the game very quickly as they only arrived off the coach 5 minutes before kick off.
Right from the kick off it was obvious the conditions were going to have a large effect on the game, with scrums following handling errors taking a lot of time. Ventnor’s 7 man pack held back the full 8 man pack of Farnham with strong performances from Ventnor’s front 3 of Adam Pratt, captain Jac Stemmet and returning Joe Pettifer.
It took a while for the first score of the game, Farnham’s mauling saw them over in the corner for an unconverted try. This was followed shortly after by another score by the home team.
Ventnor were very much in the fight though; AJ Wells Man of the Match Chris Hill, in his last appearance for the club this season, broke free from scrum half with the move finished off with Ed Blake dragging the his opposite number over the line for Ventnor’s only score of the game.
Strong tackling from Cory Turner, Justinas Urbonas and Harry Colson held Ventnor’s line well. They, twinned with carries from father and son Scott and Gareth Gough, and Dan Noyes kept the game very much competitive. The first half ended 22-5 to Farnham.
The second half saw a resolute defensive display from Ventnor, who only allowed Farnham to score once in the whole half.
Captain Jac Stemmet said:
“It was a shame, that last minute commitments and travel disruption meant we had some drop out meaning we had to travel light. This game was very much a winnable one, but the players that did travel did the badge and I proud”.
Farnham 4XV 29 – 5 Ventnor 2XV
Red Funnel Moment of the Match – When Allan Bridges cast a spell of invisibility over himself, Mike Flanagan and Ben Atkins.
Team: Stemmet, Pettifer, Pratt, S.Gough, Noyes, Corney, Hill, Colson, Blake, Urbonas, G. Gough, Turner.
