Hurries continue league climb

The Hurries entertained Winchester RFC on a blustery Saturday afternoon at the Fairway Ground, eager to make amends for the defeat Winchester had inflicted upon them earlier in the season.

Captain Ricky Harris won the toss and elected to play into the strong wind in the first half. With the kick to touch option ruled out, Sandown kept the ball in hand and held off their larger opponents through multiple phases.

At the set plays, Sandown’s scrum was again dominant which gave the Winchester backs no platform to run off on the rare occasion they did get the ball. Sandown had much of the play, with Joe and Sam Rees, Luke Hunter, Chris Skelley and James Keyworth all taking turns to crash around the Winchester fringes and through the centre channels.

Despite getting close the line on several occasions, Sandown were finding it hard to breakdown final line of the Winchester defence and, when Winchester did manage to regain possession they kicked deep meaning Sandown had to start their attacks all over again. With twenty five minutes gone there was no score.

The breakthrough came soon after, when Winchester kicked deep but straight to full back Kern Wales whose attacking guile has been prominent for the Hurries all season. He jinked his way passed two defenders before offloading to Joes Rees. Rees was tackled but managed to offload back to Wales who stepped on the gas before feeding James Keyworth whose strength and pace took him thirty yards and over the line with two defenders hanging off of him. Danny Thomas resumed kicking duties with a stunning effort into the strong wind that sailed just over the posts for a seven nil lead.

Despite pressure late on, the sandown defence held out and turned around at half time knowing the wind would be to their advantage in the second period.

Sandown started the second half a little off the pace, perhaps thinking that they had already won the game, and this allowed Winchester to build up momentum and gain field position. Winchester’s game plan was clear even before the game started, with their heavier team looking to exploit gaps around the fringes of the ruck.

In the second half they had no option to kick and kept the ball in hand well. Flankers Sam Tolley and VIKOMA Man-of-the-Match Ryan Carey had their work cut out, but time after time they repelled the Winchester attacks. Sandown were defending as a team, but without the ball they were unable to hold Winchester out and they eventually crashed over for an unconverted score.

Winchester gained further impetus from their attack and soon after scored a virtually identical try to take a 10 - 7 lead. This galvanised the hurries and, with Charlie Sutton coming on for Joe Dove, Sandown finally looked to control field position. With minutes to spare, the crowd agonised as chance after chance went begging and it looked for all the world as if Winchester had nicked the points.

Then up popped scrum half and WIGHTLINK Man-of-the-Match Seb Corby who, with props in front of him, took his chance through the smallest of gaps to stretch to the line with the last play of the game. Thomas’s kicked sailed just wide of the post but it was irrelevant as the referee blew his whistle and the sandown players and supporters celebrated a win that takes them into fourth place in the league.

Sandown Team: Ricky Harris, Dan Thomas, Chris Skelley, Sam Rees, Luke Hunter, Ryan Carey, Sam Tolley, Joe Rees, Joe Dove, Seb Corby, Dan Muir, James Keyworth, Will Baxandall, Josh Wetherick, Kern Wales. Subs: Charlie Sutton, Todd Eldrigde, Joe Wiltshire