Andover RFC - Youth Academy
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Sunday, 23rd January 2011
Ellingham & Ringwood Colts 12 - 25 Andover Colts
Andover Colts, sponsored by the Cricketers Arms, Tangley, and ShowLite Ltd, journeyed to Ellingham & Ringwood to contest a place in the final of the Hampshire Plate. After a disappointing defeat against Newbury the previous week, Andover would certainly have to up their game. The omens did not look good; the sky was overcast, the pitch was more mud than grass, and Ellingham & Ringwood looked very determined.
Ellingham & Ringwood came straight at Andover from the kick-off and some desperate defending was required to prevent an early try by the opposition. On ten minutes Ellingham and Ringwood were awarded a penalty in the Andover half for offside, but thankfully they failed to score. Andover took this as a wakeup call; on twenty minutes the ball was passed across the field to Dan Knight who offloaded to Jonny Rogers to run in a try. Andover failed to convert, but a 0-5 lead buoyed the team’s confidence.
Andover took the game to Ellingham & Ringwood and on thirty minutes were rewarded with a second try. The ball was again passed across the backline and on this occasion Ollie Lindridge was responsible for scoring a try down the right wing. Andover were clearly thinking about their game which was the difference between the two sides. The Andover lead was duly extended by a further five points.
Andover maintained their hold on the game for the remainder of the half and went in at the break with an apparently comfortable lead of 0-10. However, within ten minutes of the restart Ellingham & Ringwood got themselves back in to the game by scoring a try after a sustained period of pressure. A conversion later and the Andover lead had been reduced to just three points.
With the score set at 7-10, Andover realised they had a fight on their hands again and immediately applied pressure on the Ellingham & Ringwood line. The Andover pack were having to fight for every ball, but at last their superior quality started to show. With twenty minutes of the second half gone, the ball was passed out to Dan Knight who shrugged off some close attention to run in a much needed try; 7-15 to Andover.
Five minutes later and Andover scored their second try of the half. Jack Williams offloaded the ball to Cameron Jobson-Wood who ran the ball over the line. At 7-20 with fifteen minutes to go Andover were looking good for a win. The team were performing well in the scrum and line outs, and the backs were playing a more expansive game. In particular Matt Moore, Eddie Cronin and Ollie Lindridge were making their presence felt in the game.
Andover were not finished in notching up further points. With just over five minutes to the final whistle, a ball was passed out of the scrum for Jonny Rogers to run in a try on the left wing. Andover failed to convert yet again, but in their defence a deceptively strong wind was not conducive to accurate kicking. No matter, Andover had an unassailable lead of 7-25 and their place in final was guaranteed.
To their credit, Ellingham & Ringwood continued to play rugby and were rewarded with a consolation try in the last minute of the match. The final score was 12-25 in what had been a hard fought game.
Andover now have to face an in-form Vectis in the final of the Hampshire Plate, which is scheduled to be played at the Goodship Ground in March.
All of the players are to be applauded for helping Andover to make the final. The ‘man of the match’ was awarded to Matt Moore for his contribution to the game.
Squad: Luke Linssner, Matt Moore, Tom Redshaw, James Bacon, Charlie Ward, Eddie Cronin, Dec Gillan, James Ashton, Fabian Kidd, Jonny Rogers, Jack Williams, Matt Woodhouse, Ollie Lindridge, Jack Stott, Cameron Jobson-Wood, Dan Knight, Will Quincy, Taro Rowe, Jake Kane.
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