Ventnor were beaten by Locksheath Pumas by a 20-point margin despite leading at the half-time interval on Saturday (18th February).
Unavailability and injuries meant a couple of changes to the Ventnor starting line-up, with the evergreen Fergus Kenny moving to scrum-half and Luke Butler returning at 10. The back 4 of Tom Crews. Sam Lines, Ben Souter and Ed Blake remained the same, with Alan Fox starting at full-back. Up front, George Finan joined the 2nd row alongside Andy Teague, and Captain Lewis Jones at hooker was once again alongside George Collett and Ben Savill. The returning Harry Colson joined Joe Coghlan and Dan Bell to complete the back row.
Playing with the advantage of both slope and wind in the 1st half Ventnor, were unlucky to concede a try after 5 minutes after a scrum penalty was awarded against them when most observers thought the home team loosehead was at fault. A lineout on the Ventnor 5m line from the kick and a strong driving maul gave Pumas a chance to open their account (5-0).
This was countered almost immediately when a series of phases opened up the opposition’s defence to give Crews a chance to score, although he couldn’t add the conversion points (5-5).
Having drawn level, the confidence of the backs seemed to grow, and an excellent 50-22 kick from Butler gave a lineout platform in the Pumas 22. With Coghlan in good form at the lineout, the backs were able to create another opportunity for Crews which, this time, he was able to convert (5-12).
Some excellent defensive work against a larger pack of forwards kept the Pumas at bay before Ventnor were awarded a penalty and were able to clear their lines. Again, from the lineout, the backs found some space, with Sam Lines jinking through and finding Ed Blake on his shoulder with a clear run to the line. Crews converted successfully (5-19).
The Pumas responded strongly, and a series of forward drives in the Ventnor 22 resulted in them carrying over for their 2nd try.
Ventnor’s rhythm was disrupted in the final 10 minutes of the half with 2 injuries. First, Crews sustained a shoulder injury and was replaced at centre by debutant Joel Cocks. Not long afterwards, Finan was forced off with a head injury to be replaced by Tristan Price. These enforced changes allowed the home side to end the half by scoring another try from a driving maul at a lineout.
Half time: Locksheath Pumas 17-19 Ventnor
From the restart, some slack tackling gave the Pumas another penalty opportunity, and, from the resulting lineout, the try from the driving maul had a certain air of inevitability.
Ventnor then put themselves on the back foot again when their kick-off didn’t travel 10m, and, from the scrum on halfway, Pumas were able to manufacture enough space to score once more. With successful conversions, Ventnor now found themselves 31-19 adrift, and this quickly became 38-19 after some more missed tackles following a Pumas lineout allowed the home side to score their 6th try.
To their credit, Ventnor bounced straight back and Blake almost scored after again taking a pass from a break made by Lines. An excellent cover tackle saw him brought down just short of the line, and further pressure from the visitors meant the home side were lucky to not see a yellow card following a series of penalties in their 22.
Full time: Locksheath Pumas 39-19 Ventnor
Ventnor 1st XV: Collett, Jones (capt), Savill, Finan, Teague, Colson, Coghlan, Bell, Kenny, Butler, Souter, Crews, Lines, E.Blake, Fox Replacements: Price, Cocks
The AJ Wells man of the match: Dan Bell
The Red Funnel moment of the match: Tom Crews
After the match, Ventnor’s Clive Carwell Hill said:
“The 1st half showed the type of rugby that the team is capable of. The wasteful amount of turn-overs, giving possession away, was halved from the previous week and shows that at this level if you keep possession of the ball for long enough then try-scoring opportunities will come. With the enforced changes through injuries and playing up the slope, against the wind in the 2nd half, Ventnor can take much heart from this performance.
“It goes to show the importance of having a full subs bench as a third reserve may have helped with some fresh legs towards the end but the coaches will be happy with the way the team put the proposed game plan (short passes, retain possession, play in the right areas) into effect.”
Ventnor can look forward to their next game in 2 weeks’ time, at home to Winchester 2nd XV, in what will be their last home game of the season.
