Old Centralians v Bournemouth

Team Selection: Two changes in the backs; Jack Young came in for Jordan Wayman at outside centre while Richard West, making his debut, replaced Ben Meaden at fly-half. The pack is unchanged. On the bench, Connor Hutchison replaced Sammy Veneroso as the back replacement.

Overcast, brightening later but with a strong, bitterly cold Northerly wind – the remnants of Storm Arwen. Underfoot it ‘took a stud’ – challenging playing conditions.

Bournemouth kicked-off from left to right as viewed from the clubhouse down the slope but into the aforesaid strong wing. Result? Didn’t go ten metres and a scrum back at the centre. Despite winning the ball, full-back Tom Broady ‘over cooked’ his kick right and the ball went ‘dead’ for a scrum back. This time Bournemouth were awarded a penalty at the scrum and scrum-half Grant Hancox managed to find touch to his left beyond the OCs’s 10m would you believe. Attacking right, they were penalised in turn and Broady pushed Bournemouth back for a line-out outside the Bournemouth 22m. Bournemouth ‘stole’ the throw-in and attacked right. Good hands saw the ball delivered to right-wing Ashley Taylor. However, when the winger was stopped after a strong run, referee Dan Evans brought play back for a Bournemouth penalty and Hancox found touch to his right outside the OCs’s 10m. Bournemouth drove off the line-out but when checked released the ball left. When the ball came back right, fly-half Richard West couldn’t hold onto the ball and OCs had a scrum outside their own 22m. Going left, OCs broke out but when they came back right, Bournemouth managed to ‘turn the ball over’ and countered right. Coming back left, a clever grubber kick through saw the ball in the OCs’s 22m. Fielded by Harry Preece, the fly-half taking full advantage of the wind kicked right and Bournemouth found themselves with a throw-in on their own 10m.

Securing the throw-in, the Bournemouth forwards initially drove the ball before releasing it right. The ball was kicked deep into the OCs’s half where they recovered it and ran it left. With good possession they tested the Bournemouth defence which was rewarded for their efforts with a penalty. Taken quickly, full-back Josh Wickens was in the line and Bournemouth were back on the OCs’s 22m but, in turn, were penalized. OCs cleared right for a line-out on the half-way line.

OCs attacked first left with their strong running backs testing the Bournemouth defensive resolve. Maintaining good possession they came back right before switching back left where the Bournemouth defence eventually prevailed and earned themselves a penalty. Hancox found a safe touch to his left inside the OCs’s 10m. Securing the ball, Bournemouth released right and outside centre Jack Young had a strong run but referee Evans brought play back to an earlier OCs infringement and Hancox was called on once again to find touch. From a line-out inside the OCs’s 22m, Bournemouth secured the throw-in and the forwards drove the ball before releasing right. Inside centre Adam Higgins made a ‘dent’ and Wickens was again in the line for that extra man to put the home side defence under some pressure. The pressure told and they yielded another penalty. Hancox found touch to his left but this time the line out didn’t ‘work’ and OCs had a free kick instead. Finding touch to their right Bournemouth had another line-out but this time on the half-way line. Securing the throw-in, the ball was released right and right wing Ash Taylor had a strong run down his flank before the winger kicked infield. The PCs defender took the ball over his own line and ‘grounded’ it for a Bournemouth 5m scrum. With the ball secured at the back of the scrum at Joe Rees’s feet, Hancox broke to his right to receive the No8’s pass and the scrum-half was too strong to be denied at that range and was over to register the first score of the afternoon and his first try of the season. His kick at goal was less successful, the wind treating the ball like some leaf in the Autumn gale for the score to remain at 5-nil with a quarter of the game gone.

22m: 5/t v 0; Hancox/9/t, Hancox/9/c miss.

OCs restarted right and the ball was fielded by loosehead prop Mike Davies who resisted strongly the opposition’s attempts to dispossess him. Releasing the balls to the backs, the ball was kicked, well chased down by left wing Oli Grainger-Williams who tackled the ball receiver to sop him getting away. There was a further bonus when OCs were penalised under the Bournemouth pressure outside their own 22m. Hancox found touch to his left inside the 22m for another promising attacking line-out.

Bournemouth’s drive off the line-out was stoutly resisted by their opposite numbers and the defenders earned the respite of a scrum. They attacked left for Bournemouth to be penalised. Broady found touch to his right on the half-way line. The ball is thrown long and hooker Ben Kimber secures it at the back and it’s released left. OCs recover the ball but are penalised. Wickens is in the line as the ball goes right where Bournemouth are awarded a scrum on the half-way line. Bournemouth first went right finding it difficult to make any progress against a well-organised committed defence and, when they came back left a forward pass bringing the attack to a halt, Bournemouth found themselves defending a scrum on their 10m.

With good ball retention, OCs, through their threes, attacked left and right and back again testing the Bournemouth defence which induced the penalty and worse prop Davies was yellow carded for his part in the misdemeanour.

32m: 5/t v 0; Loosehead prop Mike Davies ‘yellow carded’.

Broady found touch to his right on the Bournemouth 5m. Their forwards drove for the line but a strong Bournemouth defence kept them out forcing the maul to crab left into midfield. The Bournemouth defenders turned the ball over but apparently illegally. Sensing a weakness with a man short, OCs opted for a scrum just five metres out. Sure enough they were able to walk their opposite numbers back despite Bournemouth’s best efforts and, with a certain air of inevitability, eventually one of the OCs’s forwards ‘spotted’ the ball as they drove over the line. Fly-half Harry Preece had, what I would describe as the unenviable task, especially in the light of this closely fought contest, of kicking for goal and for putting his side into the lead. Cruelly, it toppled over in the wind as he attempted to kick it, resulting in a perfectly good goal in soccer terms but this is rugby unfortunately and the scores remained level at 5-all much to Bournemouth’s relief. At least, however, OCs had taken advantage, if not full, of their one-man advantage. It will not be lost on anybody what a cruel miss that was in the context of this game.

37m: 5/t v 5/t; OCs/t, Harry Preece/10/c miss.

Wickens restarted left again well chased down by Grainger-Williams and Bournemouth won the ball. Going right fly-half Richard West was caught in possession and OCs turned the ball over only for Bournemouth to do it in return and go right. A Bournemouth player got hurt in the process and referee Evans stopped play so that he could receive attention. The game was restarted with a Bournemouth scrum on their own 22m. Hancox kicked from the base of the scrum but the ball went nowhere and OCs claimed it. They went right and Bournemouth were penalised inside their own 22m. OCs again opted for the scrum but when play next stopped, Evans blew his whistle to end the half.

40+4m – HT: 5/t v 5/t; West replaced at fly-half by Hancox and Connor Hutchison replaced Hancox at scrum-half.

More or less straight from the restart, Bournemouth went right from a scrum. Hancox now at fly-half in place of West kicked, well chased down but a Bournemouth player was hurt and Evans stopped play. The game restarted with a Bournemouth scrummed the y attacked strongly first to the left then back right then left again as they tried to tried to find a way through a vigorous, determined OCs’s defence before kicking left for an OCs line-out. From the line-out, OCs kicked right for a Bournemouth line-out on the OCs’s 22m. Going right, Taylor had another run before kicking for an OCs line-out inside their own 22m. OCs kicked from the line-outfielder by Taylor but he knocked the ball on for an OCs scrum but still on the OCs 22m. From the scrum, OCs again kicked but another Bournemouth knock-on gave OCs the put-in at another scrum.

They went left from the scrum and left-wing George Bvuma, who proved to be a handful every time he had the ball in hand, had a strong run before the ball came back inside and was kicked further right for a Bournemouth line-out on their own 22m. Replacement scrum-half Hutchison kicked and OCs knocked the ball on for a Bournemouth scrum on their own 10m.

The Bournemouth scrum struggled to contain the OCs shove but managed to scramble the ball away left. Hancox kicked right well chased down by Taylor and Bournemouth got themselves a line-out on the 10m. Attacking left another forward pass gave OCs a scrum. From the scrum, OCs kicked fielded by Wickens but a good OCs chase earned themselves a scrum outside their own 10m. Going left they had a touch of the knock-ons themselves for a Bournemouth scrum. From the scrum Bournemouth went right in the face of the aforesaid stiff OCs resistance. Coming back left, OCs were penalised for being offside. Hancox found touch to his left some ten or so metres out from the PCs line. The Bournemouth forwards drove for the line. With Evans indicating a Bournemouth penalty, flanker Ciaran Smyth was bundled over to score his first try for the club and restore his side’s lead at 10-5. Hancox, with Hutchison making sure the ball stayed upright, kicked what proved to be the difference between the two sides.

62m: 12/2tc v 5/t; Ciaran Smyth/t, Hancox/9/c. Ciaran’s first score for the Club.

OCs struck back almost immediately. They went right at the restart and promptly won a penalty. Preece found touch further to his right on the Bournemouth 5m. The forwards drove off the line-out and scored. Preece had the forlorn task of kicking into the wind and, sure enough, the ball floated across the face of the goal and got no where its target to leave the score at 12-10.

65m: 12/2tc v 10/2t; OCs/t, Preece/10/c miss.

Bournemouth restarted left and knocked on the kick return for an OCs scrum on the half-way line. From the line-out OCs went right and were forced into touch for a Bournemouth line-out still on the half-way line. Here, Bournemouth knocked the ball on for an OCs scrum. From the line-out, OCs went left but lost the ball forward for Hancox to kick to kick to his left. OCs recovered and kicked back right for a Bournemouth line-out on the OCs 10m.

From the line-out, the ball was worked right and Taylor dinked the ball forward but Bournemouth were penalised to some obvious frustration and OCs were able to clear left. From the line-out they took play into the Bournemouth 22m where Bournemouth were awarded a scrum on their left-hand side. That did them no good as they were penalised giving OCs the chance to win the match with a penalty goal. Preece had the unenviable task of kick for goal and was presented a similar problem as he had for his conversion attempt only for it to end up with a heartbreaking similar result. This time Bournemouth had a drop out. With time fast running out, the still dangerous OCs attacked strongly but the Bournemouth defence prevailed and when they won the penalty the ball was promptly dispatched to the touch from the resulting line out for Evans to blow for no time.

The game illustrated just how competitive this division is. The programme suggested that there were 20 first-team squad players unavailable so if that was their ’second’ team would we have won for the first time at their ground? From a Bournemouth perspective a win away from home is always welcome how ever fortuitous it might have been.

Bournemouth remain 6th on 32 points and Old Centralians drop one place to 10th on 21 points after Brixham having leapt three places to 8th.

80+4m – FT: 12/2tc v 10/2t.

The next match is next week (4 Dec) at home to third placed Old Redcliffians, KO 3PM. The twos are entertaining the Richmond Normans in the Zoo League, KO 2pm.

Doug Warren