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Tiffs take down Petersfield on the road in dire conditions
The 1st XV are into third after keeping their opponents scoreless
Old Tiffinians made three changes to the team for the trip to Petersfield with Mike O’Connell and Will Staples coming into the pack for Noah Noeh (birthday trip) and Max Burgess (stinger), writes Jeremy Sharp
Andy Day also came in for Barney Lynnock in the back three. The order of the day was persistent rain and an accordingly wet and muddy surface for the teams to showcase their talents.
OTs started positively and asserted dominance up front and particularly in the scrum with significant yardage gained at each set piece.
A skilful move with a chip ahead and a deft offload created the first try for O’Connell and five minutes later captain Ross Hobbs made a further breakthrough, both tries converted by Sharif Dougramaji on his 99th appearance.
For the remainder of the first half, OTs, adapting to the conditions effectively, dominated territory and possession, depriving Petersfield’s back line of any real opportunity to make inroads.
On the stroke of half-time this continued pressure told with scrum-half Matt Fowler darting through to score for the third match in succession, Dougramaji adding the two points for a 21-0 lead.
Conditions did not ease up in the second half and OTs consolidated their position with tactical kicking and solid set pieces.
A kick through after 50 minutes resulted in an unlucky slip from the covering defender and Dougramaji was able to take advantage and score, this time failing to convert.
Ten minutes later good handling allowed centre Henry Turnbull to find the gap and two further points from Dougramaji took the score to 33-0 (currently misreported on the RFU website as 26-0).
Next up is Chobham at Grists on 29 November who themselves had an impressive 32-0 win away to Guildford so another tough game can be expected as OTs attempt to secure a fourth consecutive victory and consolidate third place in the table.
Petersfield 0-33 Old Tiffinians
Line-up
1. Ross Hobbs (c) 1T
2. Jae Jang
3. Tom Carvill
4. Rob Myddleton
5. Mike O'Connell 1T
6. Will Staples
7. Hugh Turnbull
8. Josh Graham
9. Matt Fowler 1T
10. George Taylor
11. Andy Day
12. Henry Turnbull 1T
13. Sharif Dougramaji 1T, 4 conv
14. Tosin Segun
15. Max Talman
Replacements:
16. George Oram
17. Joseph Cronin
18. Louis Freeman
Scoring sequence
5 min OT try (O’Connell) conversion (Dougramaji) 7-0
10 min OT try (Hobbs) conversion (Dougramaji) 14-0
40 min OT try (Fowler) conversion (Dougramaji) 21-0
50 min OT try (Dougramaji) 26-0
60 min OT try (H Turnbull) conversion (Dougramaji) 33-0