Saturday 2 November 2013
Dorset & Wilts Division 1
Minety Ward off Calne
Minety 1st XV 30pts – Calne 1st XV 7pts
A hat-trick of tries from flyhalf Jack Ward and a man-of-the-match performance from flanker Stephen Brown capped a strong team effort as Minety overcame determined opposition from Calne.
The game was barely eight minutes old when Minety won quick ball from a ruck close to the Calne line. Sensing the defence’s eagerness, Ward threw a dummy, stepped inside and crashed over for a try, taking two defenders with him.
Twenty minutes later, quick thinking and a quick tap penalty saw Ward running at a retreating Calne defence. The close attentions of three opponents were insufficient to halt him as he crashed over for his second of the afternoon.
With the half drawing to a close and Minety down to 14 men thanks to a yellow card, winger Elis Garland took over the scoring. First he kicked a penalty goal and then, in the final move of the half, took part in a driving maul that had Calne scrambling for defenders. The visitors managed to halt the move just short of their line, but Garland darted off the back and dotted down in the corner to make it 18-nil at the break.
Calne fought back strongly in the second half and got their reward 10 minutes in when some risky running and calamitous passing from Minety enabled their backs to get hold of the ball in broken play. Swift hands and a 60 metre gallop saw Jeffrey Watkin away for a try before Liam Kearney further closed the gap with a successful conversion despite the blustery conditions.
The swirling wind made it difficult for both sides, but again this week it was Minety who held their nerve to finish the stronger.
First they cleanly gathered a Calne clearance and put it through the hands to Matt Roberts, who sprinted in for a try from 30 metres out.
Piling on the pressure, the home team then pinned their opponents back and, when Calne strayed offside, were awarded a penalty just five metres from the line. Ward took the tap and, with the cover racing across to defend an overlap, threw an outrageous dummy before walking in untouched under the posts.
Tom Fitzcharles’ successful conversion made it 30-7 at the whistle and sealed a win which takes second-place Minety to within a single point of league leaders Chippenham II.
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