North Petherton 1st XV vs Sidmouth 1st 10/09/2022
Beggars brook held a moment of silence to pay respect to the passing of her majesty the queen who sadly passed away a few days prior. New captain Mac Taylor lead the boys out on a fine summers afternoon as both teams looked rearing to get the game started.
Pethy started strongly after scrummaging well as Mitch Needham slotted away a penalty opening the score 3-0. Sidmouth replied to the early score from the oaks with some strong attack on the line. But the defence from the home side proved to strong to break. After some back and forth kicks the away side won a penalty which saw their 10 open their scoring 3-3. Pethy responded well to this minor setback and continued to pile on the pressure as Sidmouth gave away a penalty to which Mitch elected to kick to touch. After Felipe made a peal from the back of the maul he cruised over the line taking the score to 10-3. Connor Perkins caused trouble for the Sidmouth attack and made some big hits and won the ball back for the oaks. Unfortunately JT picked up an early injury but was seen off with cheers from both teams and the crowd. Jack Rees and Michael stevens set up a nice attacking move down the left hand side which caused the Sidmouth defence bags of trouble. Pethy continued to pile on the pressure in the attacking third and Sidmouth showed some impressive defence which held up well despite the oaks best attempts. Despite the away sides valiant efforts the oaks finally were rewarded with another penalty taking the score to 13-3. Straight from kick off Michael stevens put major pressure on the Sidmouth team forcing a penalty almost instantly. From this a quick
Tap from Pethy’s 9 saw him have an easy route under the posts to which Mitch converted again taking the score to 20-3. Sidmouth continued to ask questions of the Pethy defence and this continuous graft saw them awarded a penalty to which they took their chance taking the score to 20-6. Both sides continued to kick to one and other both putting either side in uncomfortable places. Despite this, some brilliance from the oaks forward pack saw Pethy take the front foot again and win a scrum against the run off play. From this another scrum took place and Mitch Needham glided down the blindside scoring in the corner taking the score to 25-6. The away side began to find their feet again as they won a penalty under the posts which was converted closing the half at 25-9.
The sun continued to beam down on beggars brook as the away side opened the second half. The away team struck first in quick fire fashion after capitalising on a dropped ball from Pethy to slot over the line taking the score to 25-14. The oaks responded to this with several strong scrums and big hits forcing Sidmouth’s defence into a dark place. Neither team could seem to break the others defence as they each fought for every blade of grass. Despite this, Sidmouth narrowly found a way through the home sides defence taking the scoring to 25-19. The oaks continued to battle hard against an onslaught of Sidmouth attacks. This continuous phase of attacking play from Sidmouth saw them score another try taking the score to 25-26 putting them in front for the first team in the match. Sidmouth continued their fine run of form as a lapse of concentration from the Pethy defence saw their winger score a try adding to their lead 25-33. After this a spark was lit in the oaks as they turned the game around and won a well deserved penalty to which Mitch Needham converted 28-33. From the restart nothing changed as the oaks piled on the pressure which saw last years colts captain jack baker score a well worked try after some strong pick and go’s by the forward pack 33-33. Despite an up and down game one constant was the domination of the home side’s scrum which continued to be a force right up until the end. Unfortunately despite their best efforts, Sidmouth won a penalty to which their 10 continued his fantastic form from the tee and ended the scoring 33-36. The boys showed heart today and the result is certainly no reflection on their performance. I have no doubt that next game, they will be back.
Thankyou for reading,
By Travis Griffiths
