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| ERITH 15 VIGO 16 |
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| Written by Kelly Ackary | |
| Sunday, 28 February 2010 | |
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VIGO SQUEEZE HOME Vigo were grateful to fly half Dan Norton when he scored all the points against an Erith side in desperate need for points at the foot of the table. But in all honesty they were probably unfortunate to win this mish mash of a match, which was on the whole poorly played and poorly refereed. However, after last week’s performance when Vigo were ripped apart by some devastating rugby by Olavians, full of inventiveness, quick wit and flowing threequarter moves, they were grateful for this narrow win. Oh, that all teams had the style, grace and generosity of the Orpington based outfit, then the rugby world would be a much sunnier place. Alas, this world is a much crueller place and we are thankful that such teams have the good grace to deign us with their presence. In fact, if Erith, a proper rugby Club, had kept their heads instead of protesting at every decision that didn’t go their way, then they may well have beaten a Vigo side struggling to find their rhythm. Their general indiscipline cost them dear in a match that threatened to boil over at times but just managed to stay within bounds. Erith, frustrated at times by the referee as much as their own failings, could have descended into anarchy but thanks to a couple of wise old heads on the pitch, kept their heads – just about. The crowd, too, played their part, it has to be said, accepting the decisions with wry smiles instead of the apoplexy exhibited by some of the home side. Norton began his personal points monopoly with a penalty after 15 minutes, but Erith hit back immediately when the outstanding player on the park, Phil Sewell, picked up from the base of a drum and drove through the Vigo defence to score. In fact, Vigo’s tackling was not their strongest suit all game. Too often, first up tackles were missed, but there always seemed someone there to make the follow up tackle. The other half of the ‘Sewell Sisters’ , Alex, was also making some thunderous charges of his own as Erith drove at the Villagers. More often than not, these meaty charges were halted by a gang tackle and the ball went loose. Erith’s handling was as effective as Vigo’s tackling so the game failed to find any rhythm, although an excellent try scoring opportunity for Vigo’s Jeff Smith was halted by the referee for a forward pass, which even the Erith supporters found generous. Vigo’s kicking out of hand, Norton apart, was also pretty aimless, allowing home full back, Lewis Hughes to enhance his reputation. Norton popped over another penalty for a narrow half time lead. Vigo had dominated the scrum most of the first half, surprising perhaps against a side with Erith’s reputation up front, and with Jack Knight causing chaos at the front of the lines out, Vigo had enjoyed plenty of possession, but with the breakdown an absolute shambles, neither side could establish a solid base for their attacking ambitions. Norton , who had kept Erith penned back with some excellent line kicking in the first half was soon on the scoring board with another penalty after 15 minutes of the second half. Erith’s place kicking had been pretty woeful up until then until Tom Amzaleg appeared. Talking a good match from the sideline, Tom soon backed up his words with deed as he popped over a penalty to reduce the arrears. Having almost burst a collective blood vessel protesting at a another decision (Sorry, guys, a ball landing on the line is out !) before Erith went mental when Norton’s quick thinking ‘tap-and-go’ saw him slide over the line. Erith were still arguing about whether Norton’s tap was in the right place but by then he went and the score stood. Norton completed his points haul with the simple conversion. Erith fought back hard, playing some decent rugby but Vigo just about held on in the face of a furious onslaught . The introduction of veteran centre Carl Hayward coincided with a purple passage of threes play for Vigo, as they suddenly surprised everyone with a couple of electric breaks, instigated by slick passing by the aforementioned Hayward, almost setting the electric Caton free. But then, being Vigo, almost threw it all away in the final stages. Poor Neil Atkinson, on as replacement in his first match of the season was deemed to be obstructing. As he had only been on the pitch for 30 seconds, one called have been charitable and made a case for Neil still readjusting to the pace of the game. Obviously, the milk of human kindness had been soured in the referee’s breast by the vituperation he had endured and off Neil went. Erith tried to make the numerical advantage count and were rewarded when Alex Sewell crashed over for a try. Amzaleg’s conversion set up a frantic last few minutes but Vigo held on for an admittedly fortunate win. Team: J.Weller; J.Smith (rep: C.Hayward), O.Jarman, R.Hayes, J.Caton; D.Norton, M.Grassick; P.Hayward, A.Higgins, M.Thorogood, P.Hayward (rep: N.Atkinson); A.Wilford, C.Judson (capt.); J.Knight, D.Couchman; D.Dunn. Referee: P.Benson (London Society) Man of the Match: Erith’s Phil Sewell was the pick of both sides. Team mates Simba and Lewis Hughes also enjoyed fine matches. For Vigo, Dan Norton, apart from his points, had a good game, his line kicking virtually faultless. Jack Knight, stand-in hooker Andy Higgins and David Dunn (between bouts of projectile vomiting), also played really well. Carl Hayward almost stole the honours with two brilliant passes out of the tackle to instigate Vigo’s only real threequarter moves. GOM’s view: This was a poor match, in all honesty, poorly played and poorly reffed. Erith probably should have won, but Vigo’s resilience with this patched up team was outstanding. Like Erith, they had players out of position all over the park, so this win was more than welcome. Andy carslaw has enjoyed a 100 % record as Coach (and he bought a jug!!) |
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