Mariners Made to sweat in one point victory
Lymington Mariners 13 – 12 Stoneham Park
On a day when only mad dogs and Englishman could be found out of the shade, and consensus on the touch-line was that it was too hot for even a game of chess, Lymington Mariners took on Stoneham Park at Woodside in their second league match of the season.
Plans to make the most of the sunshine by putting on a pitch side BBQ were almost scuppered early on when club chairman Jason Ludlow decided to get drunk and visit Yarmouth instead of providing the promised logistical support to get said BBQ to the ground. Top three worst chairman EVER: 1.Jason Ludlow 2.Chairman Mao 3.Chairman Miaow (aka Jason Ludlow.)
A late cry off by Rob Chatley saw James Norris join the front row. It was good to see Chatley wasn’t too ill though as he managed to chain smoke whilst keeping the beer tent busy.
The game kicked off and within minutes the Mariners, because of some sloppy tackling out wide, were 7-0 down after a jinking run by one of the Jackson Five from 1972 saw a score between the posts.
Eventually Lymington started to get their hands on the ball and make inroads into the Stoneham Park line. Thomas Pauc came close with a darting run round the right flank but was brought down by the final defender. Then soon after the backs put the ball through the hands to winger to Jamie Bolwell who showed a clean set of heels to the sprawling tacklers to touch down between the posts. Thomas Pauc kicked the match level and then five minutes later put the Mariners in front with a converted penalty.
Just before half-time Phil Jenner the powerhouse of the Mariner back line took a heavy knock and had to be replaced by the slightly frighteningly mental Mark Etheridge whose first involvement in the game was to nearly decapitate a charging Stoneham forward.
Young Max Williams in his debut for the Mariners started the match under a lot pressure from the more experienced opposition scrum-half. However as the match wore on he started to adapt to the demands of league rugby and as his confidence grew so did his game.
Dom Ellis and Lee Thomas dominated the line out nullifying it as an attacking option for the Stoneham pack and in the scrum Lymington’s front five held strong giving the backs a steady platform to play off. However it was in the ruck and loose play that Lymington failed to impress. All of Stoneham’s threats to the Lymington line came from poor tackling and a lack of aggression in the breakdown.
Early in the second half Thomas Pauc took another three points for the Mariners to stretch the lead to 13-7. Then Bolwell junior should have grabbed his second try of the match but was thwarted by the referee’s whistle for a dubious forward pass decision.
15 minutes in to the 2nd half the two veteran back rowers Lee and Ben experienced a moment of synchronised exhaustion. Arriving for a scrum near the touchline they both breathlessly demanded to be substituted. On came the even more experienced (ie. older) Rob Douwthwaite and Andy O’Callaghan to keep the rocking Mariner ship steady.
As if the front row isn’t a dangerous enough place it was made potentially lethal when Stoneham brought on a replacement hooker who’d obviously been a bit too busy at the BBQ as he seemed unable to keep his own body off the floor at each scrum. Skipper Cavell’s protests went unheeded and during a break in play whilst having a chat with the ref the hooker found time to down a few more burgers.
Thomas Pauc then got injured as he thwarted a dangerous Stoneham kick towards the try line. He was replaced by Pete Rolfe who was immediately threatened with a kicking by Mardy Etheridge if he missed any tackles.
Stoneham then got to within a point of the Mariners with a second try that almost wasn’t as the man that carried the ball over the line in an effort to get near the posts was tackled. A slice of luck saw the ball spilled backwards and a Stoneham hand was first to ground the loose ball.
A nervy final two minutes weren’t helped when Joe Rodway departed from the field injured to leave the Mariners a man short. Fortunately John McGuffin brought some calm to affairs as he continued to pin the opposition back in their own half with some penetrating kicks.
In a post match straw poll Dom Ellis pipped Mitch Sullivan for this week’s Lymington Rivaaz Man of the Match award.
A worthy mention should also go to Nozza who completed his third 80 minute spell in a three weeks! At one point Noz amazingly even managed to find himself too quick for play when from an offload in the tackle he was in front of the pass that would have seen him through the line.
The ever serene and relaxed governor Pete Allen at the post match chat looked more annoyed than had ever been witnessed and despite the win it was a while before any smiles were seen on Mariner faces. If Lymington are to make any impact on the league this season then they won’t do it playing rugby like this. I sense training is going to be stepped up a notch – you have been warned!
On a final note it would be remiss of me not to mention that Dom Ellis managed to maintain his two perfect career stats – 100% failure to score a try and a 100% conversion rate of goal kicks. It’s good to know that even when we play this bad we have something to rely on.
Squad: Jason Bolwell, Owen Cavell, James Norris, Dom Ellis, Tim Hinman, Charlie Cutler, Mitch Sullivan, Ben Bradley-Watson, Andy O’Callaghan, Lee Thomas, Rob Douthwaite, Max Williams, John McGuffin, Phil Jenner, Joe Rodway, Mark Etheridge, Thomas Pauc, Jamie Bolwell, Pete Rolfe, Ben Rodway
Hampshire 2 update: week 2
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