1st XV Match Report
Andover 16 - Weybridge Vandals 41 - Reports Carl Sievewright
Looking to turn the tables on their losing streak, Oakwood sponsored Andover 1st XV played host to Weybridge Vandals in London 3 South West whi sta just above them in the relegation zone, but with Andover and Alton significantly adrift of the rest of the basement dwellers.
Andover took the game to the visitors early on, with some bullocking runs from the front row trio of Nick Reed, Tom "I love cake" Waite, and Martin Wassell. Andover were camped in their opponents' 22 for nearly ten minutes, but despite this pressure, lacked any finishing power. This combined with Weybridge’s physical defense soon saw a turnover and Andover conceded a try on the ten minute mark.
Andover continued to play well, with returning flanker Alex Morgan and Aaron Hatcher getting around the park and slowing down the opposition ball at the breakdown superbly. This hard work eventually paid off when Andover were awarded a penalty thanks to Morgan’s speed at the breakdown, forcing their tackled player to hold on to the ball. Franklin slotted the penalty bringing the score to 3-5 and a quarter of the game played.
Andover carried the momentum on and attacked well, with some superb running from Sam Froggett, Guy Wilkinson and Dave Catt, however some good vision from the pacy Weybridge winger resulted in an interception following a loose pass from returning centre Matt Ball in the oppositions' 22 and he raced away to score under the posts which was then converted.
Andover fought back, with some slick work from Wilkinson, who committed the man well and offloaded superbly to put Dave Catt over in the corner. Franklin unfortunately failing with the conversion, as it fell short.
Andover continued to take the game to their opposition, with second row Aaron Hatcher finding some pace, and exploiting a gap well. He then off loaded through the tackle to Morgan, who unfortunately fumbled the ball, no doubt a result of being out with an injury for the last three months and lacking match practice.
Andover were soon awarded a penalty as Weybridge couldn’t keep their discipline at the breakdown.Franklin converted, bringing the score to 11-12 at half time.
Andover seemed to lose their edge in the second half, with their usually solid scrum starting to creak and the breakdown area going more Vandals' way than in the first half. This pressure led to Andover conceding a trio of tries in the first twenty minutes, giving the ooposition a bonus point in the process and bringing the score to 11-29.
Andover soon woke up, and skipper Rob Good, playing out of position on the wing, crashed over in the corner, but the ball was dislodged in the process by the opposition winger.
Andover found some motivation from this play and managed to go through the phases well, with the hard working Wilkinson - again an other player out of position - going over in the corner with ten minutes to go.
Weybridge responded in kind with two well worked tries taking the final score to 16–41.
Andover 1st XV travel to Surrey to take on Old Blues on Saturday 4th February, facing another tough challenge with a number of key players unavailable.
ScorersTries: Catt, Wilkinson
Cons:
Pen: Franklin (2)