What a difference a week makes

Wanderers 31

Trebanos 15

On a bright dry day at the Memorial Ground the early exchanges were very even as both sides had possession. Going through the phases the defences were on top as the teams found it difficult to get any real penetration. A speculative kick from the visitors surprisingly bounced over the head of full back Tom Weekley (despite the heaviness of the pitch) which set up the first real attack of the day. The home side struggled to break free of their 22 and after conceding a scrum they were forced to defend their line. Trebanos set their backs free but the home side defended well and gained a turnover scrum. At this point the visitors were definitely having the better of the play although they struggled to find the scoring touch. A breakout of the Wanderers 22 by Steffan Davies set the Wanderers free but the attack was foiled when Morgan Williams was bundled into touch. The game went back and forth still deadlocked at 0-0 as both sides searched for the breakthrough. Eventually something had to break and it was Trebanos who scored first. Moving the ball close to the Wanderers line a series of close quarter drives gave them opportunity and they forced their way over after 22 minutes. A conversion added the extras 0-7. The score sparked the home side into action. A break downfield by Ryan Nunes set up field position and after a penalty was awarded Tommy Taylor kicked deep into the Trebanos 22. A series of drives put the pressure on and the visitors saw yellow after a collapsed maul. The Wanderers tried another drive and when it was held up Davies sneaked around the blindside to score the Wanderers first try 5-7. From the kick off the Wanderers were straight back on the attack. Shaun O’Rourke carried well and after several phases the home side took play deep only to be thwarted when a penalty was conceded 5 meters from the Trebanos line. The visitors cleared their lines but the home side came back on the attack. A move of several phases this time saw O’Rourke finish the move this time as he crossed for a great team try. Again, the conversion went just wide 10-7. Back came Trebanos a break from captain Steff Lewis took play deep and when the Wanderers conceded a penalty the visitors levelled it up at 10-10 to take the sides into the break all square.

The Wanderers made two front row changes at the break with Morgan Hughes and Gareth Reid joining the fray. Once again, the game was evenly balanced as no side could find the breakthrough. On hearing of a good game of rugby breaking out the local police helicopter decided to drown out the crowd. Rumours that they were looking for members of the Massiv have been denied by the club (although certain members of the Massiv were found to have travelled North for the weekend). The match needed something special to move the scoreboard and it came in the form of Steffan Davies. Nunes carried well on halfway and when the ball was presented Davies broke clear. Despite the attention of the Trebanos defence he weaved a merry dance through the visitor’s half and he raced away 50 metres clear to score. Taylor converted 17-10. The home side now had their tails up and despite bringing on their limited fresh legs the visitors started to wilt. The home side scored their third try after another move of several phases involving forwards and backs, which for the second time in the game was rounded off by second row O’Rourke as he crossed in the corner. Taylor landed a superb touchline conversion 24-10. Trebanos weren’t going to lie down and they responded once again. A penalty and yellow card to captain Max Wootton allowed the visitors to set up good field position and a driving maul which included several backs saw them cross for their second try 24-15. The game entered its final minutes and the Wanderers good handling continued Taylor rounded off a good afternoon for himself when he crossed for the bonus point try and he landed the conversion to take the home side clear 31-15. That proved to be the last of the scoring in a keenly contested game with the Wanderers deserved winners.

Wanderer’s scorers

Tries: Shaun O’Rourke (2), Steffan Davies (2), Tommy Taylor

Cons:   Taylor (3)

Management Man of the match: Ryan Nunes
Massiv Man of the Match: Shaun O’Rourke

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