Hodgkins finds way to crack “Rocks”
WANDERERS 28
ST PETERS 21
“The beer tastes so much better with a W in the wins column. The whole squad will benefit from this” commented Manager Mark Gould “and my rendition of Green Green Grass of home on the Karaoke was clearly the highlight of the day”.
“Great all-round performance, still plenty of ‘work-ons’ but we kept going and deserved the win” added Tony Murphy.
On a grey overcast day with a fine drizzle in the air the Wanderers were straight out of the blocks. Going through the phases the home side stretched the “Rocks” defence but the visitors were up to the task and snuffed out the attack. Back came the home side dominating early possession and territory they were getting plenty of dividend out wide. Wave after wave of attack was gamely repelled by St Peters as they struggled to get a foothold in the game. Morgan Williams and Gruff Tough were prominent in the home side attacks and a clear threat but the final try scoring pass eluded the Wanderers time and time again. A penalty at the end of the first quarter gave the home side a chance to get the scoreboard moving but a Jamin Hodgkins shot went just wide keeping it at 0-0. Eventually the deadlock was broken. A lineout in the St Peters half was moved into midfield. Cameron Growcott broke through the defence and took play deep into Rocks territory. He offloaded to Aron Arthur who fed Steff Davies who raced away to score the first try of the game. Hodgkins converted 7-0. After 28 minutes the visitors finally got their game together and managed to enter the Wanderers 22. Showing that they certainly had weapons up their sleeve they started to mount attacks of their own. The Wanderers defence dug deep but despite repelling several drives the Rocks found a way to score and they levelled it up with their first try 7-7. The home side responded to the setback and struck straight back. A penalty at the kick off saw the penalty reversed for backchat and the Wanderers took full advantage. Hodgkins kicked deep and the subsequent driving lineout saw hooker Ben Rhodes crash over for his first try for the club. Hodgkins converted 14-7. The dying moments of the half saw the game ebb and flow with both Tough and Williams continuing to cause problems for the visitors’ defence but despite all their efforts and clear dominance of possession and territory the side went into the break with the Wanderers only ahead 14-7.
St Peters, revived by a half time orange, came at the Wanderers from the kick off. Setting up a series of drives and attacks in the home side 22. With both forwards and backs carrying well they pummelled the line but the young Wanderers side dug really deep to keep them at bay. The assault lasted a clear 10 minutes but the Rocks could not break the home side down and eventually just as at the siege of Stalingrad (look it up for those too young to know) pressure was relieved in the mud and the home side cleared their lines downfield. The game switched to the Wanderers on the attack and from the first attack of the half the home side extended their lead. Once again, the ball went wide and neat work from Ned Bennett and Aron Arthur down the right wing put Tough in space and his agile footwork gave him a chance. He eluded the defence and ran away to score. Hodgkins added the extras and there was relief all round at the memorial Ground 21-7. St Peters responded well and before long the arrears were reduced. A high tackle (a law applied rather inconsistently all afternoon) allowed them to kick deep into the wanderers 22. A neat little move at the front of the lineout saw them crash over for their second converted try 21-14. As the game entered its final quarter the result was certainly in the balance. Hodgkins saw another penalty shot go wide and when he had another shot, as the home side scrum started to dominate, the game turned on its head. The shot went wide and the ball went loose but the chasing home side players failed to gather it. Recovering the ball the visitors ran from deep. Finding space out wide they raced through the Wanderers defence and with some neat interpassing they raced away to score the try of the day and the levelled it up at 21-21. The Wanderers faithful were thinking here we go again with the spectre of the loss at Ystrad and the draw against the Keys looming in the memory but today it was different. After a scrum on halfway the ball was moved into midfield and somehow Hodgkins broke clear and he needed no second invite as he raced 35 metres to score. He added the conversion and the referee signalled the end of the game with the Wanderers gaining the much need bonus point victory. Final score 28-21.
Wanderers Scorers
Tries: Steff Davies, Jamin Hodgkins, Ben Rhodes, Gruff Tough
Con: Jamin Hodgkins (4)
Massiv MOM: Steff Davies
Management MOM: Aron Arthur
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