TABARD 21
Although
well on top in the scrums Tabard found it extremely difficult to score on Saturday but
finally managed to keep their unbeaten record with a win over local rivals
From the
start it looked like the game was going to be hard and fast. In the second minute Tabard passed the ball
out quickly and centre Keiran Murphy made the final
yards but he was tackled as he went over the line and the referee decided that
the ball had been held up. This
decision then set the tone for the rest of the game and neither side found the
crucial rhythm needed as the game was not allowed to develop and some of the
decisions given to both sides were difficult to understand from the
touchline. In fact, towards the end of
the half Hemel also crossed the line and the referee again said the
ball was held up, a decision that so incensed the Hemel coach that his verbal
annoyance was punished by the referee banning him from the touchline.
Before this
incident Tabard’s stand off Jack Reilly had converted a penalty in the 16th minute and
then, as the half drew to a close, Tabard got their first try. A powerful drive on a Hemel scrum caused it
to wheel over ninety degrees and Tabard then got the put in. The ball was heeled cleanly and passed
quickly out. Centre Gerald Arasa made the initial
break before passing to fullback Steven
Jenkins, who went over in the corner, to give Tabard a half time lead of 8
points to nil.
In the
second half both sides found scoring difficult although Tabard had some fine
runs with number 8 Scott Stoba, wing Tom Woodhead and Jenkins all coming close but the
tries just did not materialise. Midway
through the half Reilly kicked Tabard three further points clear but the game
was stop start as a number of injuries, possibly due to the hard ground, forced
long delays.
Hemel then
had a period of pressure and were awarded with a penalty try after it was
deemed Tabard had pulled a maul down, even though the Hemel pack was
being driven backwards at the time.
Hemel’s stand off, O’Brien kicked the conversion and the Tabard lead was
reduced to four points until four minutes later Reilly again slotted a penalty over.
In the
dying minutes of a half that lasted a total of 52 minutes, Tabard got another
try. Once again, from a scrum, the ball
was passed quickly out and centre Murphy was over for the score and Reilly
added the conversion to bring up the final tally of 21 points to seven in
Tabard’s favour.
Team: Jenkins,
www.tabardrfc.com – Tabard home page.