2nd XV Discover That Size Does Matter

Still on a high a high from their epic battle at Tottonians – a victory which took them to the top of the table - the 2nd XV were eager for the fray. In the week leading up to the match, the squad looked very strong indeed; another win was on the cards. With players returning from injury, the 1st XV had no need to call on the support of the 2s so by the Thursday, Field had 24-players named to play.

Unfortunately, by Saturday that number had dropped to 18 and the lack of backline cover meant that Development Coach, Steve Woolcombe, was required to play himself. The hiccup in preparation caused by the reduced numbers was further exacerbated when a number of players arrived late.

Eventually, Field’s matchday squad was assembled and prepared for action, only slightly daunted by the large squad assembled by their hosts that harboured a number of 1st XV players.

The game started in sprightly fashion with good exchanges early on. From the look of the first quarter, Field appeared to have developed the cunning plan of working their way through the whole of the Fareham squad until their hosts only had fifteen players left. The Heathens made five substitutions within the first 20-minutes – all in the front five, to the huge credit of Field’s pack; Zorro Hawkes, Chad White, Chris Brooker, Dan Wiggins, Dan Groves, Matt Ede, and Stu Mercer.

Field put together some early possession and had Heathens on the back foot for large chunks of the first half. A quick tap penalty by Coach /player, Steve Woolcombe, almost rewarded the visitors with a the first try of the game only to be denied by defenders that Field thought had not retreated 10-metres. The referee had no truck with that view and, at the resultant scrum, subsequently penalised Field for allegedly driving too hard. A relieved Heathens were let off and allowed to clear their lines. After that, Heathens saw the greater share of possession camping deep inside Field’s half, testing the visitors’ defence.

As the half progressed the game became very attritional as did the player mindset, opting often to look for contact instead of adding width to stretch team’s defences. Heathens’ discipline broke game play and a few quickly taken penalties found Field once again deep inside the Heathens’ half. Flyhalf Rory Munro benefitted from a break to cross the whitewash, only for the ball to have been deemed dropped over the line – with no touch judge or TMO this was a harsh call for one side and a just result for the other!

The second half kicked off with the scores level at 0 – 0. During the break, the Heathens made further changes. Field manfully tried to compete and started the second period well but Heathens had recognised that their guests lack of replacements, allied with the attrition of the first half had taken its toll. With Field unable to manage the space out wide, the Heathens ran in four easy tries.

In the dying few minutes Field rallied on the Heathens 22 but were thwarted by what they saw as numerous offsides and high tackles, all executed without sanction. Frustration grew in the Field camp resulting in Chris Brooker being invited to take a ten-minute rest. Despite being a man down, Field continued to press but were unable to convert their pressure in to points – another potential penalty try going begging, in Field’s view.

Coach, Steve Woolcombe, reflected after the match that, on another day the result could have been better for his side. “We butchered four opportunities in the first 20-minutes”, he said, “and had two very good shouts for penalty tries. Regardless, I can only thank the commitment and positive attitude of the players.”