Lymington 63-0 Andover III – Match Report

Mariners Go Top

Lymington Mariners 63 – 0 Andover III

On saturday Andover 3rds visited lymington for a merit table clash. On the back of their defeat against Tottonians the previous week the Lymington squad were keen to get back to winning ways and they did so in emphatic style. By full time Lymington had run in 11 tries and added 4 conversions to go top of the Hampshire Merit 2 Table.

The two teams’ previous meeting in the league earlier in the season had been a close affair with lymington only scoring the winning points in the final few minutes. It was a relief therefore to see the two Andover Fijians who ran amok last time (one of whom I’m convinced was Serevi on a weekend off from his 7s commitments) both absent from the visitors’ changing room.

Even with quite a number of their own players on holiday, injured or elsewhere engaged Mariners still managed to turn up with a squad of 23 players – a great turnout that impressed the RFU’s John Collins visiting us to discuss our promotion to the main Hampshire leagues next season.

From the whistle Lymington set the tone for the match as the ball was worked from one side of the pitch to the other going through a dozen pair of hands before Europe’s No.2 wood chopper and tight head prop Rob Chatley bulldozered his way over the line from 5 metres out.

Mariners then grabbed a quick second when on the half way line with a tight blind to the right of the Mariner scrum the flying Scotsman John McGuffin at fly half looped round the narrow side and popped the ball to full back Craig Esterhuizen. He in turn passed to winger Mike Jenner who expertly drew the defence before popping it back to Craig who scored untouched as he crossed the line.

The gutsy Andover side managed to hold their ground for much of the rest of the half, their pack competing well in the scrum and their backs kicking to the corners in an attempt to get a foot hold in Mariner territory.

However with the first half drawing to a close Lymington pushed hard for a half time lead that would put the tie to bed. Captain and hooker Owen Cavell took possession inside the opposition 22 metre line and went on a barnstorming run across field trying to find the line between a melee of defenders. He bounced back and forth off defenders which with a few sound effects and flashing lights would have more resembled a game of human pinball. He was finally tackled just a metre short but the ball was quickly recycled for Craig Esterhuizen to grab his second.

Then in the last play of the half outside Jamie Bolwell scored his first of the match up the left wing having been put into space by scrum half Bruno Brods to leave the score 22-0 at half time.

The second half started much like the first with Mariners scoring straight from the kick off. This time the Andoverian second row caught the ball and under pressure passed it to his fly-half who was hammered by flanker Ben Bradley-Watson and No.8 Lee Thomas. Ben stripped the ball free in what he described himself as a slightly illegal manoeuvre and it was popped to the third member of the back-row trio John West who shrugged one defender off in his charge to score under the posts. Young Bolwell scored the extra two.

Minutes later Lymington secured a ruck ball on their own 10 metre line. The ball was spun to fly-half Braveheart McGuffin who for the umpteenth time carried over the gain line, drew the fringe defenders and expertly popped the ball inside. The lucky recipient on this occasion was the galloping Lee Thomas who ran half the length of the pitch using his trademark hand-off on the covering full back and winger to leave both eating dirt and himself free to score in the corner. The walk back to the half way line for the restart took the veteran No.8 significantly longer than the outward journey.

The third try of the half came shortly after when Jamie Bolwell scored his second with another long range solo effort. This time swiftness of foot rather than hand was the decisive factor as he broke through the defensive line and rounded the full back to score between the posts. Converting his own try the score was now 39-0.

At this point in the match Andover sportingly gave permission for Mariners to bring on their remaining substitutions. This included giving Anthony Hoyle his first experience of the front row as he replaced captain Cavell as hooker. Anthony, after his first scrum emerged grimacing and contributed an insightful comment of just two words, the second of which was ‘me’.

Despite some major reshuffling the flood walls had now well and truly burst as Lymington ran in four more tried before the final whistle.

Two of these were traditional prop forward drives through the fringes of a maul. The first by tight head prop Jason Bolwell who powered over the line in a bid to ensure the junior Bolwell didn’t have exclusive bragging rights at home that evening. The second was scored more surprisingly by wing Peter Rolfe who decided to show brother-in-law second row Dom Ellis how to do it.

In between these, inside centre Steve O’Callaghan steamed through the opposition defenders from 20 metres out to touch down between the posts making the conversion a formality for Jamie.

By now Dom Ellis carrying the weight of having never EVER scored for the club started to position himself anywhere on the field where an opportunity might come his way neglecting any sense of responsibility in fulfilling his second row duties. Time and again he missed his chance and on one occasion was held only a fingertip’s length short of the line. The exasperated expressions and hand gesturing to the rugby gods although mighty comical did nothing to help. Then with just minutes left on the clock a break through the line by full back Craig took him to within metres of the line. The covering tackler bringing Craig to a halt left him with the easy option of a little pop pass to the screaming and charging Dom to take it over the line. However in a moment of comedy genius Craig preferred the option of a longer pass out wide to Pete Rolfe for the final score. Between Pete’s beaming face and three fingers aloft in the air (the number of tries he’s now scored as a Mariner) and Dom’s utter disbelief there wasn’t a dry eye amongst the home players and supporters.

The ‘Lymington Rivaaz Man of the Match’ this week goes to John McGuffin who was the puppet master pulling the strings that brought forwards and backs together in this terrific display of total rugby. We only hope his friday evening exploits to celebrate Burns night don’t incapacitate him for this weekend’s fixture!

This weekend Lymington travel to New Milton to face their second team in a merit table clash. This long awaited first ever local derby between the two clubs will undoubtedly be a spectacle of rugby played at its highest intensity and all Mariner supporters are invited to come and spur the boys on.

Andover Match Report