Withies Battle the Storm in South Molton

Saturday afternoon saw the last of the Withies’ pre-season friendlies. The team took on a different look from last week with a number of changes from the side that played at Raleigh Park, this was a good chance to give some more of the squad some game time ahead of the season. With this game following on from the 2nd XV’s game, some players fancied more time on the field and put in an appearance for both games in a real test of fitness.
The Withy kick off was a good one down the pitch as the receiving catch was dropped, giving the forwards a very early scrum to deal with. The scrum went well and the boys managed to keep control of most of the early exchanges of play; so much so as a high kick was successfully collected by Sam Warren who hands the ball out to Paddy Haddad and the out to the waiting hands of Joe Blyth who sped down the left hand wing to score under the posts. Haddad kicked the conversion to give the boys an early 7pt lead after nine minutes.
The visitor’s try put a bit of fight into Molton as they got into attack mode and turned on the pressure, forcing the Withies to test their defensive tactics. The boys weathered the storm well and earned themselves a well deserved turnover on their own 5m line to clear back to half way. The ensuing line out was stolen and cleared out to allow a Withies break. Unfortunately the foot race was lost as a well timed try-saving tackle from South Molton saw the ball bundled into touch. It wasn’t long before Withies got their second try though as another break down the left wing saw Josh Saunders go over in the corner for an unconverted score.
As the half hour mark passed, the rain began and the Withies had a momentary lapse of discipline with a string of penalties against them to get Molton back up the pitch for a try under the posts. This try boosted the home side further as they gained in confidence and enjoyed the majority of the possession and territory in the final ten minutes of the half and get their reward with another breakaway try in the corner. The kick went wide to bring the scores level at 12-12 going into half time.
As the second half got underway, the withies had a storm of a different kind to deal with as the rain became heavier and heavier, with the sound of thunder crashing round. The weather slowed the play down, affecting the fast pace of play that our boys were enjoying. This gave the home side a strong advantage with their physical forward-based gameplan. The defensive line remained strong however, right up until the hour mark when Molton managed to create a gap and scored to take the lead.
With the weather continuing to worsen, play settled down again with mixed possession. The conditions seemed to help the hosts a little more as they seemed to grow in strength and confidence, gaining the advantage at the breakdown, earning themselves a few penalties for additional territory. The final score of the game went to South Molton after some well worked multi-phase play ended with a try next to the posts to bring the final score to 24-12.
It may have been a loss for the boys this week, but there are still a lot of positives to be taken out of the game(s) that have made up this series of three matches. After all, this is exactly what preseason is about; an opportunity to see what works, what doesn’t, your strengths and weaknesses and learn, once again to play with your teammates and grow as a team once again.
The boys will take all of this and put in place ways to improve and become a better team ready for the start of the season which gets underway on Saturday 4th September away at Bencoolen Meadows in Bude.