A Tale of Two Halfs

RAMSEY 19-19 GARSTANG
Garstang travelled to Ramsey looking to avenge the final day defeat which prevented them from going through the 2017/18 season unbeaten. On that particular day Ramsey narrowly beat Garstang with some fine running rugby in glorious conditions. This game was never going to be vaguely like that one as a gale-force wind blew in across the Irish Sea meaning that conditions were challenging to say the least.
Garstang played the first half with the wind behind them and this was a massive advantage, which led them to think that a twenty point lead would be a minimum requirement at the break.
Things started off fairly well and within the first few minutes Garstang got on the board as Joel Dugdale forced his way over following a period of pressure. The kick was pushed wide but the early lead was 5-0.
With the advantage of the conditions Garstang were keen to push on but errors and poor kicking options meant that they squandered a lot of opportunities. With twenty minutes played they put in some good work and worked another chance for Freddie Hewitt who cut in and went over to extend the lead. Kieran Davies added the extras and Garstang were well on the way to a try bonus point (0-12).
From the restart Ramsey managed to retain the ball and make their first foray into the Garstang half. They clearly had experience of playing in the extreme conditions and close interplay coupled with good retention saw them camped on the Garstang line. Heroic defence kept them at bay but even after a clearing kick downfield Ramsey attacked again and got their reward with a try in the corner. A spectacular banana-kick for the conversion was good and Ramsey were back in the game at just 12-7 down.
Garstang reasserted themselves after this and they were rewarded with another try as Edgar Nicholls squeezed the ball over the line following having run a decent crash ball in. Davies added the extras (7-19).
Ramsey repelled more attacks before the interval and Garstang went into the break with a relatively slender twelve point lead.
Early on in the second period Ramsey missed a relatively straightforward penalty kick at goal to reduce the arrears but they were soon on the scoreboard as they scored a try which felt inevitable given the pressure (14-19).
Garstang weren’t taking this lying down though and they managed to get some good territory and pressure. Gavin Barton introduced himself at Prop and he had an instant impact as a Garstang scrum marched Ramsey downfield from over twenty five metres out. With a try looking inevitable the home team folded and their back rowers came in to mess the ball up when the line was beckoning for Andy Garnett. At any other level of the game a penalty try and card would surely have been given but as it was the referee deemed a penalty to Garstang was sufficient. From the reset scrum the ball came out but Ramsey managed to hold out and cleared the ball downfield.
Midway through the half the home side scored again but the conversion was crucially missed (19-19).
With twenty minutes to go Ramsey must have been looking at the bonus point win but chances were few and far between until the last play when they were awarded a penalty on halfway. On a normal day this would maybe have been out of range but on the day it looked relatively simple. Fortunately for Garstang the kicker pushed it wide and the game ended up as an honorable draw.
Teams: Nicholls, Roskell, Parkinson, Davies Taylor, Orr, Tissingh, Pye, Garnett, Nickson, Davies, Inman, Dugdale, Knowles, Bisby, Hewitt. Replacements: Lambert, Barton, Malcolm.