Rugby result: Intermediate Cup - Chiswick 52 Ipswich 0
Sympathy for Ipswich who finally discovered the home ground ten minutes before the allotted start time, and then spent eighty minutes becoming acclimatised. Chiswick, on the other hand, produced their best form in ages, with everybody contributing, and a typical second half performance right from the kick-off. They were out of sight well before the break.
The home pack, with Al Pickering, Tubbs Davies and Rory Fletcher particularly prominent, dominated the early play, and prop Shane Donaldson plunged over under the posts with three minutes played. Tom Duffy converted. Ipswich thundered back, and Duffy produced a try-saving tackle on their No.8. After a dash down the left touchline by Donaldson ( some efficacious compound ?), newcomer Josh Noble put in a super touch kick, putting Chiswick into the Ipswich 22. Ten minutes gone, and t’other prop Davies overwhelmed the massed Ipswich defence for a popular try ( Hymns and arias were heard ). The conversion was long and sure.
Ipswich eschewed an easy three points for a line kick, but then lost the ball in the lineout. New winger Taddy Gavin was almost laid out by Davies as they both went for a catch, possibly his toughest moment in the match. The next try was the killer, for as Ipswich were coming into the game, Chiswick captain Simon Hallett intercepted an attack, knocking the ball up, and catching it just in time before outpacing the defence to the posts. 21-0 and twenty minutes gone. Scrum half Luca Vannini got the next, one minute later, courtesy of a final pass by Hallett, Duffy converting. An acrobatic leap by Seth McCullan collared an Ipswich lineout throw, and a Garryowen by Dave Hill evaded the Ipswich players and was hacked on by Hallett, who again proved he had a metre at least on the Ipswich defence, touching down near the posts to give Duffy a simple conversion.
The second half was anti-climactic. As Ipswich improved, the impressive home defence refused to give an inch, although only Hallett’s fingertips prevented their scrum half scoring a deserved try. A cock-up in an Ipswich attack was seized upon by Jon Joyce, and the ball went via
Fletcher to Hallett. Held by three defenders, he could only flip the ball up, but Noble grabbed it, did a couple of compulsory swerves, and scored comfortably. The kick came back off the post. The hard-working winger, Chris Hallewell, rounded off the scoring with a brace of tries, the first following his own charge down, duly converted, and the second after a kind bounce from a Duffy kick, Chiswick having just taken a scrum against the head. Head-scratching time for the Chiswick coaches, but no hair tearing-out this week.
Chiswick team :- Donaldson, Joubert (Talbot), Davies ( Addison ), Pickering M, McCullan (Adams), Joyce, Fletcher, Pickering A, Vannini, Hill ( Townsend ), Hallewell, Hallett, Noble, Gavin, Duffy
November 7, 2011
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