Resilient and Hardworking Hurricanes pick up Victory with only 14 men!
Fordingbridge RFC 2nd XV 20 - 35 Sandown & Shanklin RFC 2nd XV
On a blustery day in the New Forest, fourteen dedicated Hurricanes made the trip to Fordingbridge RFC 2nd XV, a team who had topped the table for the first 10 games with 100% win rate. The visitors lost the toss, and were forced to kick into the wind and after good defensive pressure at the breakdown managed to recovered possession. Fordingbridge conceded an early scrum and this was then a chance for Sandown and Shanklin to show the strength of their scrum. A clean feed from captain Liam Little allowed a solid hook by Zac Davis and the ball came to the feet of, Number 8, Josh Sayers. He picked and went blind with his run, rounding the opposition winger with ease and barreling over the nervous looking 15 for the first score. The extras added by 2’s now regular kicker and Man of the Match, Mitch Farrant.
Straight after the restart, the Hurricanes were under pressure as the kick, again taken down the blindside by J Sayers, was well defended this time and driven out of play by three men in sky blue. This meant the hosts had a line out 30m out of the Sandown try line. Despite good work in the air from Farrant to disrupt the Fordingbridge line, they still managed the ball away to the backs and after picking off the men, one by one, they had the overlap to score in in the corner, 5 - 7.
From the restart, Sandown & Shanklin worked hard to recover possession and they were rewarded with a penalty just outside the opposition 22. The decision to kick for the posts was elected by Captain Little, and Farrant kicked the goal to keep SSRFC ahead, 5 - 10. Again, from the restart, it was big Number 8, J Sayers, who took the ball in and after recycling possession well, the Hurricanes had found themselves in the opposition half and on the front foot. The ball was spun out to stand off Charles Little who created a gap and then popped the ball to Rob Newton Jnr, who duly obliged and skipped through to find himself 1v1 with the fullback. An excellent tackle from the opposition fullback meant that even after an offload to centre Sam Buckingham, the defence were back to make the cover tackle on Bucko. However, Buckingham then managed to free his arms, five metres from the try line, to offload to the human wrecking ball, George Law, who barged over to score, 5 - 17. The hosts struck back to finish the first half with a flourish, pinning the Hurricanes back with some good kicking deep into the Sandown territory. Tackle of the game came from Charles Little on the hosts big number 6, crippling him to the floor and spilling the ball in the process. in spite of this, Fordingbrigde managed two late tries both scored out wide, tightened the score line at the halfway point, 15 - 17.
The Hurricanes started the second half the faster and stronger. Rob Newton Snr scoring a well-deserved try from a tap penalty, and despite the best efforts of the Fordingbridge defence, broke through numerous tackles and running in from 50m. Rob was the pack leader for the game and lead well with his solo effort. Moments before his try, Rob Jnr had been sin-binned minutes for a try-saving high tackle. Despite this leaving the visitors down to 13 men but, 15 - 24 up. Shortly after, another penalty was kicked by Farrant to give the Hurricanes a commanding lead, as young Rob Newton re-entered the fray, 15 - 27.
The home side then scored their final points with a fantastic run from deep from a pacy centre who rounded the 14 men Hurricanes to dot down in the corner, 20 - 27. This time Fordingbridge had infringed unnecessarily and were shown a yellow for a high tackle, to even up the numbers a short time. Flanker, Dan Sayers then managed to streak through the defence and score after running a close line to ruck. Running in yet another try his seasons tally. The only missed kick of the day from young Farrant, 20 - 32. Finally to top it off the young 17 year old kicked a last-minute penalty to really put the game beyond the home team and cap off a glorious day for the Sandown & Shanklin players, and family that came to support the boys, 20 - 35.
The Mighty 2nd XV are at home next week, hosting Locksheath Pumas RFC 2nd XV at the Fairway. The hosts will look to avenge their earlier loss this season, when they had again travelled away with only 14 men and put in a valiant effort. Kick-off is scheduled for 3.00pm, and the Clubhouse will also be showing the Six Nations rugby on Saturday 9th March.
Try
Josh Sayers
Try
George Law
Try
Rob Newton
Try
Dan Sayers
Star Player
Mitch FarrantKey moments
Videos and photos
Highlights
As it happened
- Fordingbridge II
- Sandown & Shanklin 2nd XV
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Josh Sayers Try 10:00'
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Mitch Farrant Conversion 11:00'
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Try 18:00'
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Mitch Farrant Penalty 22:00'
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George Law Try 28:00'
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Mitch Farrant Conversion 29:00'
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Try 32:00'
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Try 38:00'
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Rob Newton Try 45:00'
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Mitch Farrant Conversion 46:00'
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Mitch Farrant Penalty 52:00'
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Try 58:00'
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Dan Sayers Try 65:00'
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Mitch Farrant Penalty 75:00'
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Standings
| # | Team | Pl | Pts |
| 1. | Eastleigh 3rd XV | 17 | 79 |
| 2. | Fordingbridge II | 17 | 72 |
| 3. | Locksheath Pumas 2nd XV | 17 | 69 |
| 4. | Sandown & Shanklin 2nd XV | 17 | 68 |
| 5. | Farnham 4th XV | 17 | 53 |
| 6. | Petersfield 3rd XV | 18 | 51 |
| 7. | Tottonians III | 17 | 50 |
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