13th March 2010

Ashford v Anchorians

Rugby is a tough game for tough players; unfortunately on some occasions players take the law of the game and turn them on their head to generate a win created on dubious tactics and illegal moves. This fixture was set up to allow the Gillingham team to play Ashford in a match that had previously been postponed through the lack of a match official. Ashford were up for the game and were eager to win; what we didn’t realise was the cost on our team. Okay, we lost by a small margin and this may sound like sour grapes but Ashford were nothing short of appalling in today’s match and were supported by some questionable decisions during the game.
 
They kicked off and immediately gave us a penalty for handling in the ruck following a clean catch by Adam ‘George’ Webb. Anthony O’Brien found touch just inside the Ashford half and again Webb was up for it in the lineout cleanly taking the ball off the top and passing it out to James Brindley who took the ball to the opponents half before going to ground resulting in a knock on and the first scrummage of the match. Anch’s won the ball and ran it clear before the referee blew to stop the game for an infringement in the scrum by Ashford leading to another penalty just on the half way line. O’Brien lifted the ball in the air and found touch just outside the home team 22 metre box. Richie Kyle took the ball out of the line out and passed to Andy Pritchard who carried the ball forward with a powerful drive toward the try line before going to ground and Ashford defence them gave away another penalty just metres from the try line. O’Brien kicked to touch and Webb jumped high to lift the ball from the lineout but Ashford managed to steal the ball and with a long kick cleared up field. Skipper Adam Davison did well to catch the ball on the fall and, dodging two tackles took the ball back at Ashford before going to ground unsupported enabling Ashford to turn over the ball. This lead to a sustained period of play by Ashford inside the Anchorians half. Inevitably the pressure paid off for the home team and a penalty was conceded in front of the posts for Ashford to score the opening points of the game, 3-0. Anchs were determined to get back with concerted effort from Paul Knight, Craig Whiting and Tim Banner-Martin (Banners) leading a return trip to the Ashford half and a try by Banners which was unconverted. Ashford were now on the back foot and took the ball back at Anchs and from another penalty scored another 3 points for a penalty right in front of the posts. From the restart Ashford showed Anchs a clean pair of heels to run almost the entire length of the pitch to score a try right underneath the posts which was converted to make the score 13-5. Ashford were now extremely confident and used some indecision by Anchs to run the ball down field again and looked in danger of scoring another try before Ben and Adam Davison completed a two-man try saving tackle just metres from the try line resulting in a penalty to Anchs for the player holding on. O’Brien cleared the lines to touch and Webb tapped the ball off the top to Rob Small and Brindley who took the ball rapidly up to the half way line. With support on hand he went to ground. The loose ball was picked up and passed to Kenton Parbutt who made another few yards before the referee stopped play for an offside move awarding a penalty to Ashford who cleared their lines with a long kick to touch and the referee blowing for half time with the score at 13-5.

During the break Anchs made a change with Rob Small coming off injured being replaced by Chris McDonald (Rocky). Coming out after halftime Anchs were on the back foot and didn’t appreciate it. They were keen to take the game back to Ashford and forced and error by Ashford and a scrum 30 metres out. Nothing was made of the scrum and a series of penalties were awarded against Ashford for dangerous tackles and unlawful play. Unfortunately Anchs couldn’t make anything of this advantage as every time they got possession with position Ashford would ‘bend the rules’ to create an opportunity to regain possession. This paid off for them with a try being scored in the corner which was unconverted. Shortly after this Skipper Adam Davison was taken off injured following a blatant shoulder barge by the Ashford Flanker. The referee awarded a penalty but choose not to sin bin the player. This opened the floodgates for Ashford and encouraged them to opt for the relatively easy option of playing illegal moves to maintain possession. This resulted in another two Anchs players coming off injured before the referee finally decided to ‘bin’ one of their players. Anchs weren’t beaten and James Brindley showed our true metal by forcing his way over the line from a rolling maul to score an unconverted try bringing the score to 18-10. Ashford were noticeably frustrated by this and made good ground into the Anchs half before Pritchard ripped the ball out of their hands in a tackle making ground before passing to Rocky who passed to Webb. Webb kicked the ball on which was chased by Brett Little who managed to chip it on again to get to within 20 metres of the try line before frenetic defence by the Ashford Full Back who tidied up the ball and cleared the line with a well placed clearance kick. Anchs came back again and, piling the pressure on the home team try line they managed to get to over the line with Alistair Parker scoring another unconverted try with support from Webb and Whiting. Ashford came back with 3-points from a penalty to make the score 21-15 at the final whistle. It was a disappointing loss for Anchs, made worse knowing that the home team had won by using questionable tactics and illegal tackles.
 
Next weeks game Saturday 20 March against Ashford again but this time on our turf at Darland Avenue. 3 o’clock kick off.

Report written by Clive Davison