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Sat 10 Feb 2018
Sheppey
1st XV
5
53
Bitterly cold warm up for final season push
Colin Sinclair14 Feb 2018 - 09:13
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A chill north Kent wind stiffened the sinews and the touchline flags, giving notice of another game against the elements in this Kent Shield quarter final clash.
As if chastened by the gruelling second half at Old Williamsonians two weeks ago, Dunstonians preferred to confront the biting, inhospitable conditions in the first half, hoping that the wind advantage would prove decisive in the second.
They needn’t have worried as they were able to turn around at half time with a fifteen point lead having already scored four tries against a dispirited Sheppey fifteen for whom the afternoon was only going to get worse.
It took fully fifteen minutes for the visitors to settle, but they dominated possession with an effective, short range game that was able to consistently eat into Sheppey territory. Perversely, however, it would rely on a virtuoso darting run from centre Rory Palmer, to break down the home defence and open the scoring. The conversion attempt stood little chance and the game settled into a tit-for-tat forward exchange which brought Sheppey an equalising try as Dunstonian tackling creaked like thin ice in the arctic gusts.
Just as doubts were forming on the Old Boys appetite for the task, three scores in the final ten minutes of the half banished any thoughts of complacency. Firstly, after good work from full back Diarmuid Raleigh, winger Jamal Gobir touched down for his first score, evading the lacklustre Sheppey defenders wide out. From the restart, OD’s methodically worked their way back into the opposition half and following a bull dozing run from Nick Keppe, the ball was moved accurately out to Luke Jebb on the left who confidently ran over his opposite number and the line to move the score on to 5-15. Flanker James Oddy scored a fourth just before the half time whistle with the home side in some disarray. Secure in the scrum and adapting their line out better to the testing conditions, the OD pack looked well set for a rampant second half display, with secret weapon Josh Ajiboye replacing James Mann in the front row.
And so it proved, as, soon after the resumption, the effervescent Jamie Pecorella took a short pass to blast over under the posts – the first real opportunity for Mike Ubee to add some points, which he did. The hard working Bozier briefly gave way to replacement Pete Colling, but was summoned back onto the pitch when James Oddy was called upon for centre duties as debutant Will Brentnall retired hurt. Soon after, Tom McNamara replaced Nick Keppe, using up all the visitors' substitutions but these days the team has strength in depth and plenty of positional options, so normal service was quickly resumed as Gobir romped in for his second try, capitalising on some good forward phases and a stunning low pick up from the irrepressible Palmer.
The inevitable cameo performance from Josh Ajiboye came within the hour as he sliced through the massed ranks of seemingly statuesque Sheppey defenders with a trademark run, followed by a simpler, short range effort, both of which allowed Mike Ubee to add the extras. The honest truth was that most players and spectators would have gladly called it a day at that, but there was a numbing ten minutes left to endure, brightened only by another OD score from captain Jefferys, who had constantly threatened a breakaway try.
In rugby’s brave new world, there is a strange ambivalence towards cup rugby in amongst the heavy demands of league fixtures and injury lists that are not getting any shorter. OD’s however continue to rise to the challenge and bring a desire to perform and improve to every game. This Sheppey encounter belied the connection between match performance and the training effort put in during the week, but that now has to be the team's abiding principle as it revs up for a tough end-of-season programme that includes the top two league sides, the Cornish odyssey and now the next round of the Shield, all of which will challenge OD ambitions come rain or shine.
Scorers:
Tries: Gobir (2), Ajiboye (2), Palmer, Jebb, Oddy, Pecorella, Jefferys
Conversions: Ubee (4)
MoM: Rory Palmer whose opening solo try broke the stalemate and set the tempo for the rest of the game. He’s developing into the complete package with great attacking instincts now combined with solid defending and support play.
They needn’t have worried as they were able to turn around at half time with a fifteen point lead having already scored four tries against a dispirited Sheppey fifteen for whom the afternoon was only going to get worse.
It took fully fifteen minutes for the visitors to settle, but they dominated possession with an effective, short range game that was able to consistently eat into Sheppey territory. Perversely, however, it would rely on a virtuoso darting run from centre Rory Palmer, to break down the home defence and open the scoring. The conversion attempt stood little chance and the game settled into a tit-for-tat forward exchange which brought Sheppey an equalising try as Dunstonian tackling creaked like thin ice in the arctic gusts.
Just as doubts were forming on the Old Boys appetite for the task, three scores in the final ten minutes of the half banished any thoughts of complacency. Firstly, after good work from full back Diarmuid Raleigh, winger Jamal Gobir touched down for his first score, evading the lacklustre Sheppey defenders wide out. From the restart, OD’s methodically worked their way back into the opposition half and following a bull dozing run from Nick Keppe, the ball was moved accurately out to Luke Jebb on the left who confidently ran over his opposite number and the line to move the score on to 5-15. Flanker James Oddy scored a fourth just before the half time whistle with the home side in some disarray. Secure in the scrum and adapting their line out better to the testing conditions, the OD pack looked well set for a rampant second half display, with secret weapon Josh Ajiboye replacing James Mann in the front row.
And so it proved, as, soon after the resumption, the effervescent Jamie Pecorella took a short pass to blast over under the posts – the first real opportunity for Mike Ubee to add some points, which he did. The hard working Bozier briefly gave way to replacement Pete Colling, but was summoned back onto the pitch when James Oddy was called upon for centre duties as debutant Will Brentnall retired hurt. Soon after, Tom McNamara replaced Nick Keppe, using up all the visitors' substitutions but these days the team has strength in depth and plenty of positional options, so normal service was quickly resumed as Gobir romped in for his second try, capitalising on some good forward phases and a stunning low pick up from the irrepressible Palmer.
The inevitable cameo performance from Josh Ajiboye came within the hour as he sliced through the massed ranks of seemingly statuesque Sheppey defenders with a trademark run, followed by a simpler, short range effort, both of which allowed Mike Ubee to add the extras. The honest truth was that most players and spectators would have gladly called it a day at that, but there was a numbing ten minutes left to endure, brightened only by another OD score from captain Jefferys, who had constantly threatened a breakaway try.
In rugby’s brave new world, there is a strange ambivalence towards cup rugby in amongst the heavy demands of league fixtures and injury lists that are not getting any shorter. OD’s however continue to rise to the challenge and bring a desire to perform and improve to every game. This Sheppey encounter belied the connection between match performance and the training effort put in during the week, but that now has to be the team's abiding principle as it revs up for a tough end-of-season programme that includes the top two league sides, the Cornish odyssey and now the next round of the Shield, all of which will challenge OD ambitions come rain or shine.
Scorers:
Tries: Gobir (2), Ajiboye (2), Palmer, Jebb, Oddy, Pecorella, Jefferys
Conversions: Ubee (4)
MoM: Rory Palmer whose opening solo try broke the stalemate and set the tempo for the rest of the game. He’s developing into the complete package with great attacking instincts now combined with solid defending and support play.
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