Hurricanes in seven heaven!

One a fine day for rugby, Sandown & Shanklin were looking to bounce back from their disappointing loss to Southampton in the Plate the previous weekend. Millbrook, placed 3rd in the league, also played the previous Saturday, and were looking to cement their position in the league over the 4th placed Hurricanes.

The game began with both sides trying to feel their way into the fixture, and despite early positive play, the visitors were the first to get on the scoreboard, with a try. However, the home side struck back, after some positive play in midfield from the returning Jack Wedderkop, the Hurricanes were deep inside the opposition 22. And with scrum half Jacob Jordan, finding Sam Flux on the crash line for the try, the home side were straight back in the game. Tom Borrer converted, 7-7. Yet, the next period of the game did not go the way of Sandown & Shanklin, with their ill-discipline costing them territory and points on the board with Millbrook kicking a penalty. The pain was not over either, as the opposition pushed their ascendancy and scored a try out wide, with the conversion scored, the away side had a strong lead for the remainder of the half, 7-17. Despite being under the pump, the home side fought back, and after some sobering words under the posts, the side came together and started to click again. With strong carrying from Luke Hunter and Zak Chiverton gaining good headway, Millbrook began to offend at the breakdown. Cam Mitchell kicked to the corners and the resulting line outs were taken cleanly by Branston and Hopper. First Tom Borrer managed to find space on the blind side, thanks to swift handling from Sam Tyson and Cam again, allowing Borrer to score, 12-17. The Hurricanes finished the half strongest, with another try through Michael Barrett, after scything his way through the defensive line. The half ended with Sandown & Shanklin on top, 19-17.

The second half began in the best way for the Hurricanes, as a perfect restart from man of the match Cameron Mitchell was reclaimed, and with some swift hands, they found Zak Chiverton who dotted down. Millbrook, responded in the best way possible with a try of their own. It came about as the home side collected the restart and looked to go wide. However, as the pass were flowing, the ball was plucked out of the air and the intercept try was scored, 24-24. This could have halted the Hurricanes momentum, however, they went on to score a further five tries in the remainder of the half. The pick coming Cameron Mitchell, who scored a double, the best being as he weaved his way through the defence and dotted down. Jack Wedderkop, and Henry Bagnall managed to get over the line, making the most of the opposition defence switiching off, as the game was taken away from them. Sam Branston completed the scoring with a push over try from the scrum, as the Millbrook pack lost a man to the sin bin. It wasn't all great news for the Hurricanes, as scrum-half Jacob Jordan sustained a broken wrist and will be out for 6-8 weeks.

The Hurricanes now have three weeks off until their next competitive fixture, in which they travel to league leaders US Portsmouth in a mouth watering contest. In the mean time, Sandown & Shanklin will be showing the Six Nations this Saturday, cheering on England vs Scotland!
Regardless, the Hurricanes are now seven wins a row in the league!