Yatton RFC
12th November 2005
Fielding a much changed side
and with only 14 men for the first half Yatton did well to stay in contention
with a rugged Harlequins side.
Honours were even for most
of the half with penalties being the only scores, although Yatton’s Tom Rowe
did get over the line only to be robbed of a try by clever defence.
The rugby was not pretty but was played with
conviction from both teams, with Doug Crossan notable in central defence
Just before half time Yatton
suffered a blow when captain Andy Williams was forced
to leave the field owing to a recurring ham string injury, but Yatton were
reinforced shortly
afterwards by the return appearances
of Mark Osborne and Jeremy Johnson after long absences.;
The unerring boot of in-form
Justin Andrews with two penalties equalled that of Harlequins for the first
half.
As the second half continued
Yatton were clearly on top but still unable to score from the opportunities the
forwards were creating, because of determined Harlequins defence but also
unforced handling errors.
On one occasion though, they
made no mistake and from pressure created yet again from the pack, the ball was
moved out where prop Martin Dickson gave a scoring pass to the young wing
Stuart Brain, who was making his debut at senior level. This rounded off an excellent all round
performance for the young player. Justin Andrews added the conversion.
Harlequins still pressured
to get the equaliser but the forwards again stole the day when Andy Pond won a
ball against the head near their own line for Adam Noble to clear with a well-taken clearance kick, which effectively ended the
contest.
Scorers:
Try: Stu Brain
Conversion: Justin Andrews
Penalties: Justin Andrews (2)