Lymington v Overton – Match Report

Mariners hold on to scrape third league victory

Lymington Mariners 18 – 14 Overton

Lymington Mariners got their league campaign back on track and preserved their unbeaten record at ‘fortress’ Woodside with a narrow victory over Overton RFC on Saturday.

An early re-shuffle in the pack following an injury to Charlie Cutler didn’t put Lymington off their stride as the started the match much the dominant side. Camped in the Overton half and going downhill Lymington had all the early possession, the forwards working hard and communicating well to ensure they kept the ball moving forward with some excellent multi-phase play. No doubt coaches Pete Allen and Chris Rodway must have been watching on with some satisfaction that their efforts at training were beginning to pay dividends on the pitch.

After 10 minutes Lymington made the breakthrough after another series of rucks created space 5 yards from the line for vice-captain fly-half Joe Rodway to step back inside and cross the line for his try.

Overton then battled hard and following a couple of penalties found themselves camped in the Lymington 22. However, the training drills again paid off as the Mariner line held firm to repel a series of Overton attacks. At one point young Tom Jenvey turned all Fijian as under pressure at the base of a Lymington scrum he managed to send a pass through his legs with pin point accuracy to his fly-half. The kicking of Joe Rodway and Tom then released the pressure by keeping Overton pinned back in their own half and giving the Mariner pack the platform they needed to again make a number of threats on the opposition’s line. In one such attack the Overton line stepped up too quickly and Tom Jenvey coolly slotted over a penalty to take the score to 8-0.

The pack then needed its second reshuffle as Callum Kellas got crushed beneath a ruck and only just managed to leave the field with cries of ‘I’m done I’m done’ in time to throw up last night’s kebab. James Norris stepped in the fray – so much for his week off.

In the last play of the first half Jamie Bolwell caught a long clearance kick inside  his own half, burst through the first line of defence, kicked deep and beat the full back to the loose ball only to be brought down 2 yards shy of the whitewash. The chasing cavalry charge of Mariner forwards quickly recycled the ball and skipper Owen Cavell burst through the flailing defence for the try. Jenvey took the conversion to make the score 15-0 at the break.

If the late score in the first half lifted Lymington it didn’t in any way dampen Overton’s spirits as from the restart they immediately took up position in the Mariner 22. However some superb work at the front of the line-out by Dom Monkhouse secured the possession Joe needed to send first one and then another kick long, both of which he chased down. He took the second one over the try line only for the referee to call him held up and the try not awarded. Jamie Bolwell then made another excellent return from a clearance kick powering his way through and around the Overton pack only to be tackled a yard short of the line. The forwards took their turn to apply some pressure on Overton’s line by running a number of penalties but coming up short each time. Then from a line out both John West and Ben Bradley-Watson drove with the ball in hand only to be stopped inches short. Finally to ensure that some reward came from all the hard work Tom Jenvey kicked three points to take the lead to 18-0.

Instead of being the signal for Lymington to play freely and push for the bonus point it was Overton who, with nothing to lose, threw caution to the wind and upping the tempo started to run everything. This in turn caused Lymington to stray from the laws with their attempts to regain control and from a penalty 10 yards out Overton were the more alert as they spun the ball to their No.8 who with space in front of him barged his way over for the try, neatly converted 18-7.

Overton continued to push and Lymington continued to make mistakes. John West having spent to much time watching rugby on the TV seemed to be of the opinion that all passes must now be of the new and popular back of the hand flick pass variety. Unfortunately as hard as he tried none of them came off and a particularly wayward one ended with a turnover that resulted in Overton’s second converted try with 3 minutes still left in the game.

However when it mattered most Lymington managed to steal the ball back from the restart and a Tom Jenvey box kick would have led to him scoring untouched had he reached the ball before it bounced the wrong way and found touch. The whistle blew and Lymington returned to the dressing room relieved they’d done enough early on to take the points.

For the first 60 minutes of this match Lymington looked impressive and there were some notable performances. Jason Bolwell took responsibility for making the hard yards when they were most needed. The two centres Dan Lenherr and Mark Etheridge completely locked out their opposite numbers in defence – a brick wall would have been easier to get through. Dom Monkhouse and John West were both excellent in the line-out whilst Owen Cavell led the charge from the front and as usual won the scrum count against his opposite number. Mitch Sullivan once again proved that he is one of the most reliable players in the squad with another outstanding performance on the flank – if he has off days this club is yet to witness one. Pete Rolfe played on the wing. However this week’s Lymington Rivaaz man of the match was full back Jamie Bolwell who repaid every Overton clearance with interest and looked an almost irrepressible force every time he got his hands on the ball.

Dom Ellis on family duties found it ridiculously easy to maintain his perfect record for the club.

Next week Lymington take on Aldershot and Fleet away. Anyone interested in playing for the Mariners can contact Lee Thomas on 07917556863 or by email at lee.thomas@skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk

Squad – Jason Bolwell, Owen Cavell, Callum Kellas, Charlie Cutler, Tim Hinman, Mitch Sullivan, Ben Bradley-Watson, John West, Tom Jenvey, Joe Rodway, Dan Lenherr, Mark Etheridge, Ben Rodway, Peter Rolfe, Jamie Bolwell, James Norris, Dom Monkhouse, Jason Ludlow.