Weston Super Mare 22 - Redingensians 21
Mar
A Glenn Dickson penalty kick from the halfway line secures a final kick
victory for the first XV.
A seventh win in eight League matches since Christmas has dispelled
fears of relegation but this was a remarkably tight, competitive and
entertaining match between two evenly matched teams which the home side
stole with the very last kick.
Neither side has ever won at their opponents ground but the Reading team
came very close to breaking this deadlock.
Weston took the lead after ten minutes with a Glen Dickson penalty from
45 metres...there was better to come!
The visitors responded with a fine try after twenty minutes. Weston
turned over possession on the Reds 22 meter line, Stapley and Flynn
broke down the blind side for fly half Hopkins to dive over in the
corner. The conversion was beyond Freeth, who had also earlier missed a
couple of very kickable penalties, but he found his range from the other
touchline, converting a regulation wingers try from Clements following
good back play. 12-3 to the visitors with Weston looking a bit "out of
sorts" and struggling to establish any platform in the face of some
vigorous and unexpectedly aggressive play from the Reds pack.
Dickson kicked a second penalty after 37 minutes but this was cancelled
out on the stroke of half time when Donegan was yellow carded for a
technical offence and Freeth kicked the penalty to lead
15-6....expensive and ironic. Donegans' technical offence had cost 3
points.
Redingensians centre Reynolds had got away scot free with an unprovoked,
off the ball, and apparently unseen attack, although everyone in the
crowd saw it, on unsuspecting Weston flanker George Wright.
The half time team talk must have been a good one.
The Weston pack, so subdued for the first half, climbed into their
opponents with renewed vigor and purpose and started to dominate. Burge
stole a couple against the head. Reds found themselves on the defensive
and from a poor clearance kick, Richards, a fearsome sight at full pace,
took the ball, charged through would be tacklers and fed Wright who
exacted sweet revenge as he ran 35 meters, untouched past a beleaguered
full back to touch down at the posts for a seven pointer.15-13 with 30
minutes to go.
Neither side could score a try as defenses dominated. The visitors eased
ahead to 18-13 with a Freeth penalty but they lost talkative fly half
Hopkins to the sin bin after 61 minutes and Weston pressure resulted in
a Dickson penalty and a drop goal in the space of three minutes for a
slender 19-18 lead.
With full time approaching, Reds, following a series of attacks on the
Weston line, were awarded a penalty as Wright (yes...him again) knocked
on as he attempted to intercept and interrupt a backs' movement.
The penalty was only 20 meters out and Freeth scuffed his kick horribly,
but much to his relief it crept over to regain the lead.
Referee Doug Neagle played several minutes of injury time, and in the
86th minute, Weston were awarded a penalty on the halfway line. A kick
to touch would have heralded the end of the game. Amid total silence
from a very decent crowd, Dickson sent his kick between the posts to
steal the game, and set off the loudest roar heard at the Recreation
Ground for many a season.
Team, Warman, Middlemiss, Mackay, Bennett, Sprague, Dickson, Conway,
Price,Burge, Donegan (Grimes 45-50), Richards, Glen, Smith (Fry),
Wright, Sparks.
