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| Worthing 3 |
| League, Away |
| 1st November 2008 |
| Won 23-13 |
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| Starting 15 |
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| 1 |
Porty |
| 2 |
Monkey |
| 3 |
TinTin |
| 4 |
Big Gay Al (capt) |
| 5 |
Horse |
| 6 |
Charlie |
| 7 |
Dan |
| 8 |
Matty Laker |
| 9 |
Jerry |
| 10 |
James |
| 11 |
SOAP |
| 12 |
Bosh |
| 13 |
Chemist |
| 14 |
ChiChi |
| 15 |
Yiddley |
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| Impact Players |
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| 16 |
Scrabble |
| 17 |
Debs |
| 18 |
Tim |
| 19 |
Jamie |
| 20 |
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| 21 |
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| 22 |
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Another Report ...
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The Norfolk overcame rivals Worthing in a thrilling top of
the table clash in which the league favourites were battered by a huge tight
five performance led by Rich McKenna and a rock solid defence held together by
Iain White and Mike Slator in the centre. Playing any Worthing team at their
ground is never an easy prospect, facing Worthing 3 who this year have
comfortably beaten every team they have faced and only lost for the first time
the previous week was a huge task. The Norfolk had a clear plan though and
despite a half time deficit of 8-3, the turnaround in the second half was 20-5
in the Steyning team's favour resulting in a 23-13 win for the Norfolk.
Fearing a backlash from Worthing's loss to Barns Green, the focus shown by the
whole squad was immense; everyone knew that a good start was paramount and
disruption of the Worthing set piece crucial. Enter McKenna, Midgley, Wilcock
and the Hoare brothers in the second row. The first scrum on a Worthing put in
went backwards and the Worthing number 8 knocked on under awesome pressure,
every scrum from that point until the end was pressurised if not won
altogether. It was Worthing who drew first blood though with a penalty in front
of the posts and then ten minutes later a try from a driving lineout. The
points had come against the run of play though and whilst good pressure had not
been converted into points, it was predictably Paul McMichael who kicked the
Norfolk's first penalty to narrow the gap.
At half time the mood was good and with the conditions now favouring the
Norfolk the task was simple, continue the good defence and play rugby in the
right areas of the pitch. The pack continued to dominate the set piece in the
second half and the back row were magnificent both in attack and defence. It
was not long before the Norfolk brand of 'chaos rugby' was in full force and
with dangerous ball carriers throughout the squad the offload game began to
take its toll on the Worthing defence which conceded a penalty after six
minutes of second half action. The Norfolk's first try eventually came about
after several turnovers and a scrum against the head gave the ball to McKenna
(Porty) deep in the opposition 22, it would have taken a herd of buffalo to
stop the rampaging bull who was fantastic all day and this time he barged his
way through several players to find the line. McMichael added the extras and
the game continued. Worthing put immense pressure on the restart though and
came up with the ball sparking a lengthy attack but again the defence held,
Slator and White again led the way with some incredible tackling and when wave
after wave was repelled the Worthing attack began to grow desperate. Robotham
was also prominent in defence in a game when he rarely got the ball, but his
reward was an interception and a 60 metre sprint for the line which he won to
score under the posts.
Worthing mounted another furious attack in which the kitchen sink came along
with anything else that could be thrown into the game, the defence held for
several minutes before eventually subsiding to a Worthing score. With only four
minutes left the Norfolk kicked off and competed viciously for the ball.
Winning two scrums and keeping the ball for another couple of minutes, Worthing
desperately challenged for the ball but did so illegally and an easy decision
was awarded in front of the posts. McMichael's kick was again good and only the
restart remained. If the Norfolk could re-gather the ball and keep it for long
enough to satisfy the referee's watch then the game would be over. One last
twist presented itself as Worthing came up with the ball and drove towards the
line, frantic tackling caused a knock on though and the game was over, denying
Worthing even a losing bonus point.
This was the highlight of the season so far and arguably one of the best
moments since the club first began, the squad is as good as any we have had and
when playing with confidence oppositions struggle to live with the pace of the
game. Everyone is delighted with the win and the prospect of being the team to
beat now in the league.
Several people have not been mentioned in the report where actually the whole
team should be mentioned individually so below is a brief description of each
player.
1. Rich McKenna (Porty) - Awesome scrummagin power and running force with the
ball, never brought down by one tackler alone.
2. Ben Midgley (Monkey) - Got the lineout throwing right nearly every time and
destroys oppositions with his counter-rucking.
3. Matt Wilcock (Tin Tin) - Last year's captain had his best game for a while
and brought some much needed aggression to the game.
4. Ali Hoare (Big Gay Al) - Part of a very strong tight five effort, talking to
the referee on a regular basis to get the best out of the game
. 5. Pete Hoare (Horse) - Gave power to the scrum and carried the ball well,
won several turnovers using his strength over the ball.
6. Dan Robinson (Action man) - Easily his most controlled performance so far,
devastating with the ball in hand, but defensively an integral part of the back
row effort.
7. Charlie Cambell (Busted) - Awesome in the loose, he has power and pace in
abundance. He made forty metres from a restart and caught everyone napping.
8. Matt Laker (Roland) - A gutsy performance with some super carries and a lot
of tidying up. He used his size and speed to great advantage.
9. Jez Stewart (Scrappy) - Gave good service in difficult conditions and
punches well above his weight in the contact. Also some intelligent kicks put
the opposition on the back foot.
10. James Baldwin (Baldrick) - Growing into the role with every minute he
plays, he distributed well kicked superbly out of hand and kept the defence
honest as a running threat.
11. Martin Newark (Chi Chi) - Did not see much of the ball in attack but his
experience is always welcome and he let nothing pass in defence.
12. Iain White (Bosch) - Simply superb in defence, led the backline up to put
pressure on Worthing, forced several penalties and turnovers with his
physicality.
13. Mike Slator (Chemist) - Another man of the match performance and it doesn't
matter where he plays, forced the intercept pass with a rush on the ball
carrier.
14. Simon Robotham (Soap) - Defended like a demon, took his try with the class
we have come to expect of him, showed great pace to get away.
15. Paul McMichael (Yidly) - 13 points flawless with the boot, fielded the
highball showing experience superior to his 2 years playing rugby.
Replacements:
Tim Laker (One Dip) - Came on for Newark early in the second half and nothing
changed, committed in defence but did not get much ball.
Tomasz Crgecj (Scrabble) - Came on for McKenna and the demolition continued, he
gets better every time he plays, hard to believe he has only played one year of
rugby.
Matt Carver (Debs) - Replace Robinson with Wilcock moving to blind side and
Midgley to prop, hit lineouts perfectly and the scrum lost no power with his
arrival.
Jamie Donnelly - Not used on this occasion, but he never grumbled at warming
the bench.
Well done boys! Easily my best day as captain of the club and bring on the
rest! |
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