Hurricanes 2nd XV lose at home, but not defeated in spirit!

Sandown & Shanklin 2nd XV hosted Romsey 2nd XV, and with the visitors only bringing 6 players with them, hard work from the hosts and local teams ensured there was a game to be had!

It was a glorious but gloomy morning on Saturday 27th January with a day of rugby ahead. A total of 6 brave Romsey players travelled to Sandown and accompanied some IOW 2's, Ventnor and Ryde players to take on a core Hurries team bolstered by the arrival of James Flux at stand-off and the once again fit Mark Tindall. The game began under greasy conditions. With the absence of any recognised front-row the scrums were uncontested throughout the contest. A well worked Romsey try rocked the hosts early on but a strong hurries defence lead by newcomer Jake Lewis and season mainstay Harrison Fyfe held the score at 0-5. Good work at the breakdown by backs and forwards alike kept the team in touching distance and gained the Hurricanes long periods of possession. Stephen Perfect, coped well up front, as he became a forward for the day, and carried well from the base of the ruck. With the halfway mark nearing Romsey were penalised at the scrum and a quick tap taken by the on-field captain and one-time prop Pete swallow would have resulted in a try had it been taken from the mark.

The second half kicked off amidst drier weather with less rain falling, some good play in defence of the rolling mauls by Charles Little and Damian Seder helped the Hurries gain ground through the line-out. Some innovate line-out throwing by the aforementioned Swallow allowed Hurries some possession in space and a chip-and-chase from Man of the Match James Flux led to a Hurricanes try scored by Charles Little who beat everyone for pace and pounced on the bobbling ball over the line; Charles is the younger brother of his more handsome elder sibling Liam Little, the teams integral scrum-half. Newly re-converted Dan Sayers lead the charge on Romsey in the latter parts of the half with some crushing hits on Romsey's backline. The returning Jonno Bates, also combated well at the breakdown, putting his body on the line in the tackle also. Despite two held up tries in quick succession by Polish-born Damian Seder and 5"5 Charles Little the Hurricanes could not stop a powerful IOW, Ventnor, and Ryde bolstered Romsey for scoring 2 late tries and rounded the game off in a 15-5 defeat at home.

Written by Liam Little.