Out of Cup but Three play for County Presidents.
Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 4:21PM Hant Gales Plate
Soton Uni Hospitals 90 V Isle of Wight Club 5
Fielding an inexperienced side was the downfall of the Island in this Hampshire Gales Plate match. With three players representing Hampshire Presidents and a further eight players resting knocks, it was an opportunity for some second team players to test their metal at a 1st XV level. Despite full commitment the tactical awareness and fast pace from Southampton University made sure that the Isle of Wight Club team suffered a heavy defeat.
However, the first 5 minutes was a roller coaster between the two teams. It was Southampton University that capatalised on the mistakes that Isle of Wight produced as they ran in 38 points within 15 minutes.
Points started to come from simple mistakes all over the park. Dominant scrums and strong lineouts from the Isle of Wight could not stop the Medics using their pace and width to score a flurry of tries.
The only points from the game from Isle of Wight came from a well deserved scrum pushed to the tryline and set Dan Stirrup to score underneath the post. Not the required result but players now know what is expected of them as they return to league action this weekend at Home against Romsey and the seconds against Chineham also at home.
Three IWRFC player in Hampshire Presidents XV
On Saturday the IOWRFC was represented in a match between Hampshire Presidents XV and Aldershot and Fleet RFC. Three Island players; Brett Evans, Dan Taylor and Andrew White, were selected to play for the Hampshire Presidents side which brought together players from clubs across the Hampshire leagues. The event was in celebration of the opening of Aldershot and Fleet’s new clubhouse and provided the chance for several players from opposing clubs to play on the same team.
The game itself was played at a frenetic rate and as was to be expected the select Hampshire side took some time to gel. However Hampshire Presidents XV gained momentum as the game went on. With only five minutes of the game left and Aldershot leading by 5 points, Andy White crashed through several defenders to level the scores 24 all. The Island players acquitted themselves admirably throughout the game with Centre Dan Taylor playing out of position at Fly half but expertly marshalling the backs and putting in some devastating tackles. White was the pick of the forwards with several trademark runs, a try and was instrumental in the scrums. Evans brought an injection of pace and aggression into the game at scrumhalf and provided a few big hits himself. The day was an all round success and the draw left both teams satisfied as rugby was definitely the winner of the day.
