Bournemouth Lions sponsored by
Wood of Bournemouth
Old Patesians 20 v 20 Bournemouth
The weather was fine and sunny but with a stiffish very cool Westerly breeze blowing
diagonally across the pitch. Underfoot the pitch was well grassed and firm after the few days
of respite from the heavy rains of late.
Old Patesians kicked-off down the slope towards the stand and thus with the wind.
Despite a good kick-off receipt and clearance to touch, Ops were soon on the offensive when
from the line-out fly-half Nock kicked high for left wing ‘Eddy’ Edwards to bravely field. He
was quickly thrown to the ground and penalized for ‘holding on’. Nock found touch down the
right 10 metres out from the Bournemouth line. With a move reminiscent of their successful
tactic in their win at Chapel Gate in October the Ops’ forwards drove for the line but were
forced to move the ball left. Again they regathered to drive for the line and Bournemouth
were penalized for bringing the maul down. From the resulting line-out on the 5-metre line
on the left the Ops’ forwards eventually drove over the line for No 8 Pettigrew to touch down.
Nock’s kick some five metres in from the left-hand touchline fell short of the near post to
leave the score at 0-5 after just four minutes. Bournemouth responded immediately from a
line-out on their left resulting from Nock’s clearance from the kick-off. Ops knocked-on in the
line-out and from the scrum, captain Chris Hughes did the scrum-half bit and got the ball
away to Scott Chislett. The fly-half made a break for outside centre Tim Gray supported by
full back James Flynn to continue the move before OPs managed to get the ball into touch
down the right-hand touchline on their 5-metre line. Winning the line-out, Bournemouth went
left but knocked the ball on and OPs were able to clear with a long kick to the right-hand
touch on the Bournemouth 10-metre line . Again, through Tim Seward, Bournemouth won
the line-out but a poor pass to Gray meant the ball went loose but despite recovering a kick
up field was returned with interest to find Bournemouth forced to defend deep inside their
own territory. After again winning a line-out, Chislett was forced to simply clear to touch
which found the OPs’ forwards again driving from the line-out. However they were forced to
release the ball going left where good Bournemouth defence forced the OPs’ transgression
and scrum-half Sam Hardcastle was able to find touch on his right. Bournemouth attacked
going left and OPs managed to get the ball into touch this time on Bournemouth’s left. OPs
were not 10 metres at the subsequent line-out but Hardcastle failed to find touch with his
kick and it was fortunate that the OPs’ right wing knocked the ball on. This set up a good
attacking position for Bournemouth but the ball was dropped mid-field and OPs fly-hacked
the ball down field where Flynn did well to clear to touch despite being under considerable
pressure. Despite the huge loss of territory Bournemouth still came back and their
persistence was rewarded when inside centre James Payne made a typical storming break
supported first by Gray and then Flynn who was able to put Joe Frost into just enough space
for the right winger to dive over the line wide out on the right. Flynn’s kick,
uncharacteristically, lacked any conviction and was short and wide of the near post as he
attempted to allow for the crosswind. However Bournemouth were back on terms at 5-5 after
fourteen minutes play. Bournemouth, despite some of the setbacks, were having more of the
play but it was typical of the pattern of the play that when tight-head prop Alan Manning
made a characteristic strong break off the back of an over thrown throw-in the ball was
thrown forward in the contact as the prop made ground but OPs with the simple expedient of
another fly-hack regained all the territory and more that they had lost and Bournemouth
were on the back foot again. This set up a dangerous OPs’ attack which Bournemouth did
well to out but the tackler was penalized for not rolling away and the hosts had another 5-
metre line-out on the left. Bournemouth found themselves desperately defending a couple of
line-outs but they had to give way as blindside flanker Brett Harvey was driven over by his
fellow forwards. Nock made a much better job this time with a kick just a couple of metres
further in than the last one to put his side 7 points into the lead at 12-5 after nineteen
minutes. From the kick-off the strength of the wind was illustrated by Nock’s huge clearance
kick from inside his own half went ‘dead’, the ball well marshalled by Flynn, and OPs were
forced to scrum down back on their own 22-metre line. This advantage was soon lost when
Bournemouth were penalized for ‘holding on’ and Nock found touch down the right on
Bournemouth’s 10-metre line. A crooked thrown-in gave Bournemouth a scrum which gave
Hardcastle an opportunity to ‘snipe’ round the fringes. This was taken up by a well-organized
drive with the forwards keeping the ball very tight but when the ball was eventually released
going right, Chislett was unlucky not to get the ball away to Gray when he cleverly got the
ball around the back of the defender and another promising move went a-begging. OPs
counter attacked but Bournemouth won the scrum when the ball was ‘held up’. Payne’s kick
going left was fielded by Howell but the winger kicked the ball straight into touch. OPs were
penalized at the line-out and Hardcastle continued to cause problems with a quickly-taken
penalty. This got Bournemouth onto the front foot and OPs were forced to give away a
penalty as the defended in mid-field but chose to kick for the left-hand touch rather than ‘going for’ the points a decision that, perhaps, might have cost them a win. Who knows?
Whatever, the throw-in wasn’t straight and, from the resulting scrum, Nock was able to put
another huge kick down field and full back Flynn was forced to find the left-hand touch
fifteen metres from his own line. With Bournemouth again on the defensive, having given up
a good scoring opportunity, they did well to steal the ball back from the OPs’ forwards and
when Hardcastle was fouled he found a long touch on the left to get Bournemouth going
forward again. Again however as Bournemouth attacked in mid-field there were guilty of ‘holing on’ and Nock was given the opportunity to kick for goal from inside his own half. He
had the range but some how managed to hit the upwind left-hand post for the ball to bounce
clear. Openside flanker Iain Crombie’s clearance kick failed to find touch but Bournemouth
managed to stem the attack and OPs had to concede a scrum. This found the Bournemouth
unit under some pressure however but they did well to get the ball for OPs to kick the ball
straight into touch on Bournemouth’s left. With Bournemouth again securing their line-out
ball it enabled them to set up a very satisfactory drive but the chip from the back of the maul
went straight into touch. The Bournemouth threes were offside at the line-out and Nock, with
a certain inevitability, ‘whacked’ the ball down the wind to find touch on his right deep in
Bournemouth territory. Then with further inevitability, or though it seems from the touch-line,
the OPs forwards drove for the line for one of their number to ground the ball. This resulted
in an out break of fisticuffs and, after referee Tom Davis gave a severe ‘talking to’ to both the
captains, hooker Chris Ulu was dismissed for ten minutes. Nock crucially failed to convert the
try with a kick that was wide of the right-hand post but his side led 17-5 as referee Davis
blew for half-time.
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Coach David Dunn made one change at half-time when he brought on Callum Forrest for lock
Stuart Ramsey. Bournemouth kicked right to start the second half and almost immediately, in
the absence of hooker Ulu, Jo Burns was brought on as a front-row replacement and lock Tim
Seward was obliged to ‘come off’ as a result. OPs immediately attacked first down their left
and then right before Bournemouth were penalized for ‘infringing’. Nock’s kick into the wind
failed to find touch and left wing ‘eddy’ Edwards was able to field the ball. Then he and
Hardcastle, between them, managed to get the ball safely away. Back up field OPs were in
turn penalized on their half-way line and Flynn from fifteen metres in from the left-hand
touch kicked a fine goal to reduce the deficit by three points seven minutes into the half.
Bournemouth knocked-on at the restart and the depleted scrum found themselves under
some pressure. OPs, winning the scrum, went left Hardcastle was able to win the ball and he
kicked down field. Bournemouth regathered the ball to keep the attack going but the pass
outside went to an OP player instead who promptly put the move in another direction. This
enabled OPs to find touch down their left on the Bournemouth 5-metre line. At this point. Ulu
and Seward were restored and Siaki substituted with Burns moving over to take his
loosehead spot. The OPs threes attacked from the line-out and Bournemouth were
immediately reduced to fourteen men again when a bemused Payne was penalized for not ‘rolling away’ from the tackle a couple of metres out and Nock duly kicked the three points
from just wide of the left-hand post to leave Bournemouth 12 points adrift twelve minutes
into the half. Despite being a man short and having conceded the three points Bournemouth
were showing much enterprise and determination. Almost immediately from the restart
Crombie broke off the back of another well-worked ‘catch and drive’ but was robbed of the
ball which enabled OPs to clear to left-hand touch. However, it was still ‘stop’start’, when yet
another promising move from off the back of the line-out by Manning was stopped with
another Bournemouth infringement. They regained the initiative however when they forced
OPs to infringe in turn as their threes ran the ball from the penalty and Flynn was able to find
touch 10-metres out on the left-hand side with a penalty kick of his own. With Payne
restored, OPs again infringed and Hardcastle kept up the pressure when he found a good
touch this time down the right. From the line-out, Bournemouth again showed excellent
technique and one can say at this stage superior fitness as they drove their counterparts back
at speed and for some thirty metres. But spoilt it all with a knock-on and again the advantage
was not fully exploited with OPs clearing the ball to touch. At this point, Robert Bruce was
brought on to replace Frost on the right wing. Although Bournemouth were having much
more of the ball, handling let them down again when from another excellent line-out on the
left-hand touch the ball was spilled mid-field. Nonetheless, they maintained the upper hand
and, when Bournemouth again drove from a left-hand line-out, Giles Potter, the OPs
openside flanker, was dismissed for ten minutes for pulling the driving maul down.
Bournemouth found another touch and OPs were again penalized for taking Forrest out while
he was in the air. Flynn found touch even closer to the OPs line which gave the Bournemouth
forwards, with a certain air of inevitability of their own, the opportunity to drive over for
Crombie to score. Flynn, from wide out on the left, pulled his kick wide of the nearside post
but Bournemouth were now just 13-20 down with eight minutes of play left. When Chislett
returned the kick-off back down field, a poor OPs clearance kick fell to Hardcastle and then,
in these classic open-play situations the elusive youngster can exploit so effectively, he
weaved and dodged his way through a tiring defence to run from some thirty or so metres
out and score just right of the right-hand post and just before being caught from behind.
Flynn made sure he tied up the scores with six minutes to go. However, it wasn’t over yet
and OPs, off a scrum, attacked left and a little grubber kick found touch down the left on
Bournemouth’s 22-metre line. Bournemouth comfortably secured their ball to set up another
drive which enabled Hardcastle to break down the blindside where he fed Bruce but in the
final hurrah he was forced into touch. With Bournemouth still forcing it down that right-hand
touch they ran out of time when referee Davis blew for no-side.
Disappointment was writ large over all the Bournemouth contingent’s faces; players, coaches
and supporters alike over a point lost in the overall balance of things. Nonetheless, they were
two scores down with twenty-eight minutes to go and it could be argued they did well to
come away with a draw-after all not an entirely disastrous result away from home. To ‘win’
the second half 15-3 playing fourteen men for half of it was very creditable but we should
have done better and the expectation is that we should do better. That is the difference now
after our frankly disappointing start to the season.
Referee – Tom Davis. Referee’s Assessor – David Trewin, Devon. Touch Judges – Steve
Buffery, Bournemouth.
Bournemouth Team - 15: James Flynn (1C, 1P); 14: Joe Frost (1T) (Robert Bruce 67); 13:
Tim Gray; 12: James Payne; 11: ‘Eddy’ Edwards; 10: Scott Chislett; 9: Sam Hardcastle (1T);
1: Troy Siaki (Jo Burns 43); 2: Chris Ulu; 3: Alan Manning; 4: Stuart Ramsey (Callum Forrest
41); 5: Tim Seward; 6: Chris Hughes (c); 7: Iain Crombie (1T); 8: Matt Kiely.
Scorer - Tries: Crombie, Frost, Hardcastle. Con: Flynn. Pen: Flynn.
Yellow Card – James Payne 52m. Chris Ulu 38m..
Milestones – Jo Burns selected for the 50th time in all matches for the 1st XV.
Old Patesians Team - 15: Barrie Davies, 14: Chris Howell, 13: Stu Taylor, 12: Adam
Seager, 11: Matt Norman, 10: Rob Nock, 9: Darren Moore, 1: James King, 2: Dave Potter, 3:
Mark Peacey, 4: Gethin Evans, 5: James Stickland, 6: Brett Harvey (1T), Giles Potter, James
Pettigrew (c) (1T). Substitutes – Matt Cape, Matt Hurdle, Joel Keen.
Scorers – Tries: Harvey, Pettigrew, ?. Con: Nock. Pen: Nock.
Scoring sequence – 4m: OPs try 0-5; 14m: Frost try 5-5; 19m: OPs goal 5-12; 38m: OPs
try 5-17; Half-time: 5-17; 7m: Flynn pen; 8-17; 12m: OPs pen 8-20; 32m: Crombie try 13-20;
34m: Hardcastle try, Flynn con 20-20; Full Time: 20-20.
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