A large crowd at Watcombe witnessed a gut-wrenching loss for a Ventnor 1st XV who deserved so much better.
Eastleigh arrived early with a squad that belied their position in the league with talent scattered throughout their 15, and it was they that started strongly against a home team with just 2 changes from the previous week.
Once again, it looked like Ventnor were going to struggle in the set piece where the visitor’s huge pack held sway and the link between the no 8 and the scrum-half gave them a control which meant it took all of Ventnor’s defensive commitment and skill to repel.
Lewy Morton led the tackling numbers but Ben Cooper, Alec Bulpitt and Jack Gilbey weren’t far behind and no-one shirked their responsibility so for some time Eastleigh’s dominance of possession and territory was blunted. However the pressure eventually told and, from another dominant scrum, the visitors’ no 8 picked up and barrelled over for a converted try.
Ventnor’s unstinting effort was beginning to wear down Eastleigh’s power game and that some of their heavy pack were beginning to tire as Ben Souter and Harry Ottley at 9 and 10 were combining to peg back the territory advantage with probing kicks while Iain Reeves, Dan Lythgoe, Jewy Jones and skipper Ben Savill were taking the ball into contact with frightening determination.
In addition, Ventnor were remarkably gaining parity in the set piece where the scrummaging expertise of Lythgoe, Jones and George Collett were negating the weight of the visitors’ front row. Collett in particular was faced with an opponent who looked to outweigh him by a factor of two, who was later replaced by an even bigger substitute.
Morton and Savill were benefitting from Jones’ Luke Littler-like accuracy in the line-out, and Ottley was beginning to get his line moving where Cooper shone all day with his power and dynamic defence. So it was almost against the state of play when Eastleigh scored again to take the score out to 0 – 14.
Far from being demoralised by this set back, Ventnor came back even stronger and there followed a period of play where they sent in attacks from all angles. Jake Babington began to make his characteristic runs into the heart of the action, Bulpitt was everywhere in support and the fitness of Jason Coltham, Gilbey and Collett meant that no move was allowed to die. Eastleigh began to give away penalties, and Ottley pushed the play up field from where the Islanders pounded the opposition line with relentless aggression which sucked in defenders and allowed Souter to get the ball wide, where super-quick hands from Ottley, Cooper and Bulpitt put Louis Wyatt for a fabulous try in the corner.
Half time: Ventnor 5-14 Eastleigh
Ventnor began the 2nd half on the front foot. Will Broomfield was on for Reeves, who had to leave the pitch with a shoulder injury after another performance that personified his progress in a Ventnor shirt. With Broomfield’s power running, Ventnor were again taking the game to the opposition and a desperate clearance kick was fielded by Babington on the left. His cantering line took him into midfield where the ball was quickly recycled and Bulpitt put Tom Smith into the clear. Up to this point, Smith had been only seen in defence where his lack of self-preservation in his tackling duties had been remarkable, so he was not going to miss this chance and he sprinted in for an exceptional try despite being taken out by a cynical elbow in the act of touching down. He came off to be replaced by Ewan Castle while Tom Crews – on for Cooper whose battered body had eventually cried enough – slotted the conversion from wide out. Ventnor were truly back in the game with the score at 12 – 14.
Eastleigh’s problems were exacerbated by a yellow card, but they never gave up and it took a try-saving tackle from Bulpitt and Castle’s bravery in securing loose ball to stop the balance from tilting again. However Ventnor were still in the ascendancy with Jones providing the cutting edge with his power running, and Souter had a perfectly good try chalked off by the referee who was unsighted.
Ventnor kept up the pressure, and Lythgoe’s charge forced a penalty which Crews slotted so that the Islanders took the lead for the first time. Eastleigh then had a 2nd player yellow-carded, and Crews took another three points with the clock almost in the red. However, from the kick off, Ventnor allowed the ball to go loose and then compounded the error with a penalty. Eastleigh kicked for the corner and – despite a massive effort in defence – forced their way over for a try to take the win as the whistle blew for full-time.
Full time: Ventnor 18-19 Eastleigh
Ventnor: Collett, Jones, Lythgoe, Coltham, I.Reeves, Gilbey, L.Morton, Savill (capt), Souter, H.Ottley, Wyatt, B.Cooper, Bulpitt, Smith, Babington. Subs: Broomfield, Castle, Crews Coaches: Clive Cardwell-Hill, Dean Magnurson, Todd Riches Physio: Sarah Watt
A.J.Wells Man of the Match: Jewy Jones
Red Funnel Moment of the Match: Tom Smith
Howdens Insurance supporter of the day: Roly Toombs
