Sutton Benger 3 Supermarine 17

 

A frustrating result for the seconds against Supermarine. This was a fixture that Benger have been victorious in previously and the after match feeling was that the boys had plenty of opportunities to grab the points. The day started with the sudden unavailabilty , unannounced to the captain by the player, of prop Gareth Brown. This was of no help to the side and is an unnecessary headache for the captain. Fortunately the boy "Hedges" was spied wielding a tennis racquet on the MUGA at the Rec and was commandeered to the cause. So , with a bare fifteen , Benger took to the field and immediately went on the attack with good rucking and offloading in the pack and quick(ish) hands in the backs. A penalty for offside at the ruck wide on the left allowed Doc to post 3 points for a deserved lead. Unfortunately that was to be it on the scoring front for the day. Supermarine with a BIG pack rumbled forward and after several close calls were awarded a try after a 5 metre pushover. This was rescinded when the ref remembered that it was Benger in dark blue and that it was the Benger fly half who had dived into the scrum to touch down. Unfortunately from the reset scrum Supermarine went blind and powered through the defence. A further try took them 10-3 ahead. At this point Benger attacked relentlessly and managed to butcher about 5 tries , with Doc twice being caught by the 60 yr old full back (time to retire) , and Mark O dropping a try scoring pass and Ross twice giving up certain opportunites. Dave Brown did go over from a penalty awarded 2 metres (sic) out. the ref failed to spot the grounding having bellowed at Benger to take the penalty and score. Supermarine in the last 5 minutes went blind and the entire Benger defence went missing . Final score 17-3. The promising aspect was opportunities were created and there was good commitment and handling generally. fitness was a little , well a lot, down . Newcomers Rich Johnson and Dan Both played well , Dan being awarded the guiness and port afterwards, and hopefully there will be improved availability as the season progresses