Gosford fail to recover from Beaconsfield storm surge

This has been a difficult report to write. For as long as I, or most of the players can recall, on the touchline, come horizontal rain, hail, snow or glorious sunshine, Gosford’s reports were penned by the inimitable Mike Rhymes. His sad passing earlier this summer has left this tight-knit, community rugby club with a deep sense of loss and a big pair of shoes to fill for this reporter. Players and supporters paid tribute to a true rugby man with a minute’s silence and toasts that will last from this season well into the future.
The encounter at Stratfield Brake on Saturday afternoon certainly had a start-of-the-season feel to it, with plenty of missed tackles, dropped passes, moves that didn’t quite come off… but it was certainly entertaining, with something for everyone: tries, cards, arm-wrestling forwards and twinkle-toed backs.
It is a cliché of sporting journalism that probably goes as far back as the first parchment-wielding hack, quill pen in hand, on the muddy sideline of a medieval ‘football’ match between two warring villages, to describe the action as ‘a game of two halves’. What Gosford served up was an innovation, a game of three eightieths, and not divided neatly into 3 & 77 either but a sandwich of very thin disappointing rugby bread surrounding what was often a very promising filling.
The first slice, although disappointing for the hosts, was an impressive one for Beaconsfield. The match was barely a minute old, when a loose Gosford clearance gave the visitors a lineout 30m out from the All Black line. Beaconsfield contrived a devastating catch and drive that rumbled its way over the line at a worrying pace. A converted try was the result (0-7).
Straight from the kick-off Beaconsfield took a Gosford missed tackle as the cue for a fast-paced counter attack, deep into All Black territory. Six swift phases later, and they crossed the line for a second try which was duly converted (0-14). Last season’s heroics which brought back to back wins at the ‘Brake’ and a secured a second campaign in Southern Counties North, seemed a distant memory.
Then the middle 77/80ths began. GAB got back off the canvas, a little groggy, but still in the fight. A period of sustained pressure forced Beaconsfield offside 25m out from the visitors’ line. The reliable boot of Tim Ellis got the hosts on the board after 12 minutes (3-14).
This proved something of a false dawn for the All Blacks as Beaconsfield asserted their authority once more within five minutes and another highly effective catch and drive rolled over the GAB line for an unconverted try (3-19).
The scoreline looked grim, however self-belief and pragmatic play became the backbone to the All Black fightback. New signing, number 8, Rory Gratwohl came to the fore with heavy-duty carries and sledgehammer tackling. The front five began to gain ascendancy on their own ball in the scrums. The black tide swept inexorably to the green and gold line. Penalties in the Beaconsfield 22 followed. Shots at goal were eschewed for the prize over the whitewash. A couple of GAB attacks 5m out were repulsed only for Joe Ballinger to find his half-back partner Harry Sutton at the helm of the backline, his arms a coiled spring, the double miss-pass fired with Swiss watch precision to Miles Johnson who sliced through the flailing visitors’ defence. Ellis converted (10-19).
Half time followed but within a few minutes high drama followed. Beaconsfield started the 2nd half much as they had the first and were on the attack. It was here that young Gosford winger Tim Price made a rash ‘tip-tackle’, leaving the referee with no option but to show him the red-card, the Beaconsfield player adjudged to have been taken through the horizontal. The visitors’ number 8 led unnecessary remonstrations, with the referee considering his retaliation to go beyond what is reasonable and he was in the sin-bin for 10 minutes.
With the teams, albeit temporarily, down to 14-a-side, it was the hosts who reacted better. Like a pack of wolves scenting blood, they seemed to claim every breakdown and rushed towards the opposition red zone with the visitors’ indiscipline leading to a flurry of penalties, the last of which was a double whammy as their full-back received a ‘team yellow’ – the unfortunate victim of his colleagues’ earlier peccadillos. Tim Ellis knocked over the penalty (13-19).
GAB were now within a try and also in the bonus point zone, which given the atrocious start was starting to look like a decent return for the afternoon. The final quarter loosened up considerably, though not always accompanied by quality rugby. Both sides tried to exploit the spaces, Beaconsfield more effectively than Gosford. But all too often the final pass went awry or the wrong option was chosen. One green and gold break made 50m headway deep into All Black territory, only for replacement centre Rhys Hayward to show a remarkable turn of pass to haul down the attacker. Soon after, veteran back row Liam Beesley pulled off a dramatic, try-saving tap tackle. It seemed, with 2 minutes to go, that the hosts could cling on to get something out of the game.
Alas it wasn’t to be as Beaconsfield landed the killer blow with the number 8 racing over from 25 metres out after confusion in the GAB defence left a gap the size of a barn door for him to trot through. The try was converted and the score remained at the final whistle
Gosford All Blacks 13 – 26 Beaconsfield
GAB man of the match – Rory Gratwohl – a dynamic presence in the back row, if his team-mates can get him with ball in hand in right places he will be devastating this season
Chip’s Champagne moment – Rhys Hayward’s covering tackle, like a scene from the Planet Earth, though this time it’s the buffalo who chases down the lion.