Westoe 19 - Preston Grasshoppers 10
Jan
THIS was a gritty, no-nonsense slog in the mud which kept the Westoe bandwagon rolling on (writes Clive Crickmer)..
It may have stuttered but didn’t stall against strong and well-organized opponents who themselves were on something of a roll and seemed hell bent on keeping it going.
At the end of the day it was the Shieldsmen’s 13th win in the 14 National 2 North games so far - and you can’t do much better than that - and a tribute to their resilience and character.
However, Flyde’s crushing 62-19 win plus bonus point over visitors Morley meant they leapfrogged over Westoe into second top place - hosts Loughborough Students trouncing Hull Ionians 51-13 to stay top.
The cloying conditions at Wood Terrace, abetted by a little rustiness caused by the recent fixtures disruption, meant that this was never going to be a classic.
Rather, it was a big battle for supremacy by muscular and well matched packs which the Hoppers, who were on top for much of the second half, might justifiably claim to have narrowly won.
But the sturdy and relentlessly hard-tackling defence, which has served Gareth Nesbit’s men so well this campaign, was the key factor.
Dunes Adventure Island-sponsored Westoe had the better of early play, going ahead in the 7th minute when a precision penalty kick by fly half Mark Bedworth into touch inside the Preston 22 resulted in a drive with bustling number 8 Miles Scott touching down.
It was another lineout close to the visitors’ try line that brought further success just after the first quarter, leading to a maul from which prop Nesbit crashed over.
It was converted by player-coach Bedworth whose cool head and kicking skills were again a crucial factor in his side’s success.
Fortunes now tilted with Preston applying the pressure and in the best open play attack of the match full back Sean Taylor dived over in the right corner after the ball had been spun across almost the width of the field.
The half time score of 12-5 was a pretty fair reflection of play and soon after the resumption Scott broke from a 5-metre scrum and passed to Nesbit who spotted a gap in the defensive wall which he nimbly burst through, Bedworth’s boot again making it seven points.
Now with the advantage of the sloping pitch, the visitors reasserted themselves and gave the Westoe blockade a real testing.
It held firm until eight minutes before the end when Preston opted for a penalty scrum close in and just pushed the home pack over its own line for number 8 Dominic Moon, the ball still at his feet, to score.
Still they pressed and there was much relief in the Westoe camp when the final whistle sounded.
Afterwards, director of rugby Andy Howells said: “Everyone played with total commitment and the main thing is that we got a win from a hard game against good opponents.
“While I was pleased with our performance overall, we didn’t get the backs going sufficiently and so except for a few occasions we lacked our usual tempo.”
*The eight-week lay-off showed in a disappointing display by the Seconds who were beaten 28-14 in their Candy League clash with Morpeth on the all-weather pitch at Harton Technical College.
For Westoe, tries were scored by scrum half Michael Booth and flanker Ryan Foster, both being converted by fly half Ian Dixon.
*The Colts fought and even contest with a well-drilled Carlistle side in an Under-18 League match at Oakleigh Gardenst until they tired in the last quarter and went down 25-7. F;anker Shaun Richardson scored their try which was converted by fly half Jordan Carey.
