Saturday 4 September 2010
Pre-Season Trial
Tata, Tadley!
Tadley 2nd XV 15 pts – Minety 1.5 XV 43 pts
A Minety XV of mixed first and second team players struggled in the first half away against Tadley but romped away in the second once they’d worked out how to get their hands on the ball.
Minety’s ad hoc pack struggled initially against the settled line-up of their opponents. They held their own in the scrums, but failed to gain lineout ball and for a while came second best in rucks and mauls.
Making good use of their possession, Tadley gained an early 10 point lead thanks to tries by Dave Seal and Dudley Green.
Minety’s breakthrough eventually came when they turned over an attacking move by Tadley deep in their own 22. Max Sparrow put pace on the ball before slipping it to Will Howse, who made good yards down the left touchline before passing back inside to Sparrow. He cut infield to wrong foot the defenders and then slipped a pass to Will Dyer, who sprinted in for the score.
A successful conversion by skipper Jack Ward made it 10-7 at the break.
That things had changed became clear right from the start of the second half. Tadley knocked on from the kick off, Minety won the subsequent scrum and shipped the ball smartly down the line. Dyer ran in a try, Ward converted and Minety were suddenly in the lead.
Dale Langdown was next to cross the line for the visitors, showing terrific pace as he scorched in for the score.
Tadley staged a brief comeback, executing a series of sharp passes to put Rudo van Niekirk away for a try, but Minety were not to be distracted. Another break by Sparrow took him to with 10 metres of the line, but when the ball went loose, winger Dan Shepherd was on hand to snap it up and dash in for try in the corner.
Following his own kick ahead, Ward grabbed the ball when the opposing fullback failed to gather it. Charging unopposed for the line, he slipped a cheeky pass under the posts to Ben Parfitt, who touched down for any Minety try.
A try following a 20 metre charge by prop Martin Coe took the visitors further ahead before scrumhalf Minety Richard Fisher crossed the line entangled in last-ditch defenders. The referee was unable to see whether the ball was touched down and awarded the visitors a five metre scrum. Having secured possession, they shipped the ball to the threequarters and winger Andy Pratten ran in the final try of the afternoon.
The season begins in earnest this Saturday, with both Minety teams drawn at home. The firsts play Wootton Bassett 2 in Dorset & Wilts Division 1 North while the seconds take on Devizes 3 in Division 3 North.
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