A large and vocal crowd witnessed a highly competitive game against Andover 2nd XV – sponsored by Island Echo – which Ventnor dominated without finding a means to secure a deserved victory until late in the game.
Stung by a below-par performance the previous week at Wootton, Ventnor stated strongly inspired by an all-action game from their skipper Lewis Jones. Jones was a force of nature, barrelling through tackles and providing a target for his support runners led by the second-row pairing of Andrew Teague and Jason Coltham, the latter having his finest match in a Ventnor shirt.
The home team also had the edge at the set piece with George Collett and Ben Savill – at his combative best – providing the power in the front row and Grant Richardson controlling at No 8. The ubiquitous flankers Joe Coghlan and Lewy Morton had productive days in the lineout as well as heading up the tackling figures whenever the big Andover forwards began to gain momentum.
Behind the scrum, Ben Souter was showing that he is settling into his new position at scrumhalf, and he and the outstanding Sam Lines were getting their backline into action with Fred Fairman and Ben Cooper running straight into the opposition and keeping the ball close to allow their pack to contest at the breakdown. Dylan Gray – on his debut for the 1st XV – did well in defence as he fielded a number of kicks under pressure and was unlucky to be forced into touch when put into space by the fleet-footed Jake Babington.
For all their territory advantage, Ventnor still took some time to get off the mark as Andover defended their line with tenacity and some attacking decisions went awry. Lines was putting on a masterclass with his variations in attack, and one of his kicks into space provided a position deep in Andover’s 22. The ball was recycled, and Jones, Morton and Fairman made ground before Savill powered over for the first try. Cooper converted, and the only surprise was that it had taken almost half an hour to put points on the board.
There was no further scoring before halftime despite a lacerating run defence out of defence by Lines who found Babington in support but the fullback was unable to get his pass away to runners in space.
The coaches started revolving substitutes at the start of the second half with Will Harrison coming into the front row and Will Broomfield (after his 4 tries at Wootton last Saturday) making a welcome debut for the 1st XV in place of Richardson, who had worked himself to a standstill.
The game had begun to take on a more even look and the crowd began to worry that a breakaway try by Andover could tilt the balance but Babington eased those concerns with a brilliant finish after a sweeping move that saw Ed Blake put in a final pass that the full-back somehow took behind him and still beat three men in a narrow corridor in the righthand corner.
Almost immediately afterwards, Morton took a good ball from the restart and fed Broomfield for his first powerful charge up field. Further work from Coltham and Jones set up a position from which Lines and Cooper provided a good ball for Cory Turner (on for Gray) to scorch round under the posts. Cooper converted to take the score out to 19 – 0 and the crowd could start to relax.
However, Joe Coghlan took a 10-minute spell on the touchline after a team yellow for infringing the new tackle laws, and Andover came back well with tries from a trick lineout and another from a No 8 pick-up. However, Ventnor had the last word when slick handling from Souter, Lines and Fairman put Cooper into space for a 4th try and a welcome bonus point.
Full time: Ventnor 24-10 Andover 2nds
Ventnor: Collett, Jones (capt), Savill, Teague, Coltham, Coghlan, L.Morton, Richardson, Souter, Lines, E.Blake, Fairman, Cooper, Gray, Babington Subs: Price (unused), Broomfield, Harrison Turner Coaches: Jason Evans, Clive Cardwell-Hill and Neil Evans Physio: Sarah Watt
The A J Wells Men of the Match: Sam Lines and Jason Coltham
The Red Funnel Moment of the Match: Joe Coghlan
Next Saturday (7th October) Ventnor’s 1st XV play away against Alresford 1st XV and Ventnor’s 2nd XV play New Milton’s 2nd XV at Watcombe
