Ventnor 2nds were beaten by New Milton 2nds at Watcombe Bottom on Saturday (16th November).
After a long wait, Ventnor Lions finally had a home game, and this gave skipper Jack Rushton the luxury of having a squad of some 24 players and – with a lot of rolling substitutions – the whole squad saw some game time.
Ventnor started the game strongly, with big carries from James Morley and Gary Ball (quickly on for the injured Bob Parker although he would later return) and with 12 minutes gone, Ventnor were a try to the good after a touchdown from Jake Babington. Harry Otley added the conversion.
Ventnor had to defend some vigorous New Milton attacks, with their back line looking particularly threatening when in possession. Eventually the pressure told, and the visitors crashed over after a forward drive (7-5).
Ventnor quickly rallied and more pressure from the Ventnor scrum, particularly the tight 5 in the form of Ball, Brown, Rushton, Davis and Morley, created enough space for fly half Alan Bridges to feed backs Ben Lush and Louis Wyatt, whose slick inter-passing set Babington free to cross for his 2nd try. Another successful conversion from Ottley and Ventnor led 14-5.
The visitors were able to hit back quickly with 2 tries in quick succession, both coming from their speedy back line; one as a result of some poor tackling and the other after a quickly taken penalty allowed their pacey winger too much space out wide.
Half time: Ventnor 2nds 14-17 New Milton 2nds
A scrappy first 10 minutes of the second half saw possession divided between the 2 teams. Father and son duo Dean and Charlie Magnursson made good ground, giving Rosco Harris at 9 the opportunity to set his backs away, and Ben Cooper and Ottley combining well in the centre and Ollie Wood looking keen for work on the wing. Jack Gilbey was also making his presence felt with some good defensive tackles and getting over the gain line in attack.
Some more pressure from the visitor’s pack, and Ventnor failed to clear from their own 22, leaving the New Milton fly half to brush off some lacklustre tackling and score under the posts, making the conversion straightforward (14-24).
Debutant Dylan Reeves then made his 1st appearance in a Ventnor shirt and with his first touch gained some 30 metres on the wing and laid the ball back for the forwards to secure possession in the visitors 22. More pressure from the Ventnor pack, helped by the introduction of subs Tristan Price and Nathan Frampton, and the home side created several scoring opportunities but failed to use 2 glaring overlaps, much to the annoyance of coaches Todd Riches and Clive Cardwell Hill. Eventually, the Ventnor pressure and some tired looking New Milton defence gave Harry Ottley (now at 10 and showing some good touches) the chance to wriggle over for a try, which he successfully converted (21-24).
Ventnor lost skipper Rushton with an ankle injury and more rolling substitutions saw Ventnor bring Gavin Davis, Alan Fox, Dan Muir and Ben Atkins into the fray, along with the evergreen Warren Riches. These changes did little to dampen the visitor’s enthusiasm for running the ball and they were rewarded with another quick pair of tries, one from a 3v2 overlap and the other from more forward pressure (21-34).
Ventnor had the last score of the game when more concerted forward pressure and a dominant Ventnor scrum allowed the ball to get to Babington (now enjoying playing in the second row) and he crossed for his hat-trick try.
Full time: Ventnor 2nds 26-34 New Milton 2nds
Skipper Rushton had nothing but praise for the whole squad at the final whistle, with every player giving their all around the field. The rolling substitutions kept the coaches on their toes and enabled Ventnor to be competitive for the full 80 minutes and they will be hoping to go one better when entertaining Portsmouth 3s next week in a double header at Watcombe Bottom. A good turn out at training will enable all the Ventnor players to adopt the successful game plan employed by the 1st team, as the differences between playing as a team (evident in the New Milton play) versus having individually strong games is the difference between winning and losing.
Ventnor Lions Squad: Jack Rushton (c), Henrik Brown, Dylan Reeves, Bob Parker, Warren Riches, James Morley, Dan Muir, Tim Davis, Alan Fox, Charlie Magnurrson, Ben Atkins, Jack Gilbey, Dean Magnurrson, Rosco Harris, Alan Bridges, Ollie Wood Ben Cooper Harry Ottley Louis Wyatt, Jake Babington, Tristan Price, Gary Ball, Nathan Frampton, Luke Ottley, Gavin Davis
Red Funnel Players of the match: Harry Ottley and James Morley
AJ Wells moments of the Match: Dylan Reeves (debut) Jake Babington (hat-trick of tries)