BARFC 2nds 45, Wellington 2nds 12 (05/03/16)

(This is late Mr Sluman, You will be kept back after training……)

With the yellow thing in the sky and firm wicket underfoot, it was the perfect day for a spot of the old rugby football at College Way. Bridgwater seconds welcomed Wellington seconds and the two teams battled it out on the hallowed Bridgy turf. Bridgwater welcomed back Jay Owens from the first team whilst Doug Caddick and Tom Lewis also returned to the fold. The game was as unpredictable as the whistle blower and you couldn’t possibly write the script for it.

Bridgwater were under pressure from minute one after Wellington capitalised on a struggling scrum. Bridgwater’s defence was steadfast. For 20 minutes they were an unsaturated sponge, absorbing all of the pressure that Wellington could muster. Alas, all sponges have a saturation point and the chink was found in Bridgwater’s armour. Wellington’s outside centre managed to crash over the line and despite a successful looking tackle from No. 8 Joe Sluman, the man in the middle controversially awarded the try. The conversion was successful and Wellington took a 0-7 lead. Bridgwater were also penalised after the try had been scored because as the ball was kicked back up the pitch in anger towards the Wellington kick taker, it hit one of his comrades. The referee awarded Wellington a penalty restart. The cavalry came on in the form of Dave Norman and Scott Woolford who replaced Brett Shaw and Ryan Gibson.

Bridgwater responded brilliantly. With the kick falling short of the touchline, Tom Hillman gathered and got the team moving forward. The ball was offloaded to George Sluman who sliced between the two centres like a hot knife through butter and carried forward into the Wellington half. Great support play from centres Jay Owens and James Collings ended with the latter being cut down short of the Wellington try line. Joe Sluman was back in action, this time on the Wellington try line where he scored a much less controversial try. Hill was successful with the conversion, levelling the scores at 7-7.

Joe Stradling was then sent to the naughty step for a 10-minute breather for using his boot to clear out a Wellington scoundrel who found himself on the wrong side of the ruck. Despite being at a numerical disadvantage, Bridgwater attacked, utilising their impressive driving maul. Stradling was joined on the naughty step by the Wellington scrum half, who had come around the back of one of the said mauls and hauled it down from an offside position.

Bridgwater eventually managed to score through centre, James Collings, after he handed off two attempted tackles in what is becoming a weekly occurrence. Hill was unable to add the extras this time around giving Bridgwater a delicate 12-7 lead.

Wellington were quick to respond and struck back after scragging home scrum-half Doug Caddick. The ball was spilt in an attempted pass and gathered by a Wellington player who managed to cross the whitewash unopposed. Fortunately for Bridgwater, the conversion was also missed meaning Wellington drew level at 12-12. The half played out with no further scores despite both sides having chances and coming close.

Bridgwater came out after the break a changed side. They managed to sure up the scrums, remain dominant in the line-out and build phases in open play. Wellington were penalised 30m out and instead of applying territorial advantage and kicking to the corner, Bridgwater looked to John Hill to kick their way into the lead and apply a points advantage. However, kicking into the stiff breeze, Hill’s effort didn’t quite have the legs. The ball pinged off the underside of the crossbar. Fortune favoured the conservative and the ball was regathered by Doug Caddick who had been racing forward, tracking the kick. He picked the ball and distributed to George Sluman, who managed to wrestle his way over the line. With the conversion attempt much closer to the sticks, the wind was no issue for Hill who converted to give Bridgwater a 19-12 advantage.

Despite the try rate increasing for Bridgwater, the game slowly deteriorated, becoming fractured and disjointed. The whistle blower seemed intent on slowing the game down, making mountains out of molehills yet missing the major issues of the day.

Dave Norman used his vast experience and added another try in his typical fashion. A driving maul from a lineout was destined to make its way over the line and Norman was destined to be the one to escort it. Hill successfully converted, once again extending Bridgwater’s lead, 26-12.

Roger Drabble took one in the chops fairly late and was briefly unconscious resulting in his departure from the game. He was replaced by Dave Hughes but later returned to the field. This was a solid effort from the Sheriff as after the game, a bit of work and a nap, he went to hospital to discover he had in fact broken his jaw in the fray.

From the restart, Bridgwater showcased some great support play with forwards and backs linking seamlessly as one. After the forwards hammered a few pods up the guts, fast ball reached Caddick who released Tom Denovan down the right wing. He had enough gas in the tank to complete the 40-metre effort and Hill successfully converted, 33-12.

James Collings secured his brace after an uncharacteristic piece of skill which saw him intercept the ball in the midfield. He managed to evade a desperate Wellington tackle and run in under the posts almost completely unopposed. Hill, successful again, furthered Bridgwater’s cause 40-12.
Jay Owens completed Bridgwater’s scoring for the afternoon after a powerful run left a number of would-be Wellington defenders in the dirt. He handed off two attempted tackles before carrying a third over the try line. Unfortunately, Hill was unable to convert, leaving the score at 45-12.

The game then descended further. It nose-dived straight into the realms of anarchy and chaos. Fly-half John Hill shared a red card with the Wellington open side flanker for their exchange of punches. Both players apologised and were amicable in their departure from the field of play, shaking hands on the long walk back to the coaching staff. Bridgwater and Wellington resigned themselves to the fact they would be finishing the game with 14 men. The referee however, had one more roll of his anarchy dice and sent Bridgwater’s stand-in fly-half, James Collings, packing for a professional foul. He trudged off the pitch after Hill and with 8 minutes left on the clock, he would not be seen on the field again.

Down to 13, with a mere 5 in the backs, G Sluman found himself in the centre with Dan Lang for the second time in as many weeks. Wellington smelt blood and attacked like a pack of rabid hounds. Bridgwater were resolute in defence and protected their territory like the 300 brave Spartans did against the invading Persian armies in the Battle of Thermopylae. Unlike the said Spartans (albeit not so outnumbered and probably not quite as embossed in the history books), Bridgwater emerged victorious after winning a penalty after regulation time. They kicked the ball out with an unscathed try line in the second half.

Unfortunately, this weekend’s rearranged game against Clevedon II’s was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch. The seconds next game will be away to Yatton on 19th March.

Team: Drabble, Denovan, Owens, Collings, Lang, Hill, Caddick; Gibson, Hillman, Shaw, Page-Symonds, Lewis, Stradling, G Sluman (capt), J Sluman
Substitutes: (All used) Woolford, Norman, Hughes
Tries: J Sluman, Collings (2), G Sluman, Norman, Denovan, Owens
Cons: Hill (5)

Category: 2nd Previews / Reports -XV, 2nd XV News