Chiswick Cope with Saints’ Best Efforts

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Rugby result :- St. Albans 10 Chiswick 24

The home team put their bodies on the line in the tradition of the first British martyr, but ultimately had to give the rampant Chiswick fifteen best in a sporting encounter.

The Saints established a territorial advantage from the start, where they captured their own kick-off. Even though the Chiswick pack disrupted the first home scrum, the Saints rescued the ball, and Chiswick had to defend well to keep the home side out, with George Dimitriadis providing an exemplary saving tackle on the home right wing. He then seized on a wickedly bouncing ball, propelled by Luca Vannini, to set Sam Leslie-Miller away. Jon Gibson got it out to Josh Noble, who chose the inside pass, but it was knocked on.

Simon Hallett was the next to produce a try-saving tackle, on the useful home full back, but it was lock Sam Hood who rescued the situation after a long kick forward. The same player then burst from a lineout, down the line, before passing the ball neatly inside. The ball was whisked along the line, but the final pass from Gibson was not his best, and Dimitriadis was encircled. Twenty-five minutes in the deadlock was broken after a good sustained home attack in the Chiswick 22. This started with a maul from a lineout on the right, and finished when a good dummy took two Chiswick players away from a pileup in the left corner, leaving the way clear for their No.4 to dive over. The conversion failed.

The home full back made a good break soon after, but his poor pass deprived the Saints of an almost certain try. Chiswick were now gaining territorially, with the forwards, Jon Joyce to the fore, prominent. Sammi Charad came on for Tom Adams, and the search for an equaliser intensified. Hallett managed to get a boot to a loose ball, and the twin threat of Dimitriadis and Noble raced each other in pursuit. They gained a scrum, and then Vannini was bundled into touch a metre short. Hood wrested the lineout ball, and James Dibble powered two opponents back on his way over the line. Hallett’s kick was poor, but it was all square, with Chiswick on the attack. Charad got over the line just before half-time but the touchdown was just short.

Chiswick exerted sustained early pressure in the second half, and with the move held up near the home line, Vannini sold an extravagant dummy towards Jan Joubert, on for Dan Marshall, which was surprisingly bought, allowing the Chiswick captain the luxury of a gentle canter over the line. Hallett’s kick was even worse than his first effort ( in practice before the match he had made Farrell look amateurish !). With Joyce and Hood ruling the lineouts, and scrum parity, Chiswick were getting on top, although the home tackling gave little away. An excellent move, started by Joyce on the Chiswick 22, and carried on by Ady Lewis, looked certain to lead to a try, but Noble was pulled down just short. From the scrum, Hallett got an inside pass to Charad, who plunged over for the third try. This time Hallett succeeded. Leslie-Miller was causing major problems for the home team with his determined running, and more tries looked likely, but the Saints felt otherwise, and with some superb mauling and re-cycling their outside centre scored. The kick was poor, however, and Chiswick got straight back into gear. Hallett produced his best yet kick-off; Ady Lewis harassed the Saints; they let it bounce around; Hallett collared it, and Noble scored the fourth try, which Hallett converted.

The final fifteen minutes saw Chiswick mainly in possession, but the Saints still defended resolutely, and there was no further score.

 

Chiswick team :- Shattock, Dibble, Marshall, Hood, Joyce, Adams, Darroch, Vannini, Hallett, Dimitriadis, Gibson, Noble, Brooks, Lewis Subs:- Joubert, Charad, Lowe

 

March 4, 2013