Rugby Result - Old Paulines 17 Chiswick 10
Let’s coin a new descriptor for this kind of match. Three sin-binnings probably did not reflect accurately the general tenor of the match, but there were few positives gained by either side, surely the point of such fixtures. Forced changes at halfback left Chiswick spending most of the match somewhat disorganised behind the scrums, and it also took the visitors a while to find a way of winning any lineout ball. The niggles which spoilt the earlier stages were eventually overcome, however, and the game finished in the sort of mood one had hoped it might have started in.
After an early break by the eager Mark Jones, Keith Luckman missed a kickable penalty, but Chiswick generally maintained the pressure, and went in front after a quick tap by Alistair Pickering was fed out to Ben Hinze. He wove his way through the first line of defence before feeding Jones, who went over wide out. The conversion attempt fell short.
Paulines began to come into the game, with their flyhalf beginning to dominate the play, and their fullback went over in the left corner for an unconverted try. As the home pressure increased Al Pickering suffered a shoulder injury, and while he was receiving treatment, prop Shane Donaldson came on. Chiswick had two players in the sin-bin to Paulines one at this critical moment, and the home team took advantage and scored from close range with a back row pick-up from a scrum. The conversion failed.
Chiswick had several opportunities down the left wing in the second half, but malign bounces, knock-ons and dropped balls spoilt promising moves. Sam Brown, moved to flyhalf for the game, tried a variety of moves, but Paulines went further in front, against the run of play, when a good blind-side move left their winger facing a couple of less than fleet-footed defenders, whom he rounded to run in under the posts from way out. The conversion succeeded. Chiswick began to get on top in the last quarter, and after retaining the ball well in consecutive phases of play in the home 22, prop Graham Johnson popped up in mid-field to send Jones away, unstoppably, down the left wing. The conversion failed, and a frenetic final five minutes failed to produce another Chiswick score.
Chiswick team :- Johnson, Pickering E, Betts, Chraplewczyk, Williams, Maguire, Pickering A ( Donaldson ), Smith, Luckman, Brown, Slattery ( Wassell ) , Hinze, Jones, Miller, Coffey
January 17, 2006
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