Sat 21 Sep 2019
Spirited Abbey 1st XV defeated by Marlow
Marlow 41 Reading Abbey 15
Mark Hoskins
A courageous and relatively inexperienced Abbey squad battled bravely and showed great team spirit in defeat at Marlow. The match was switched from Rosehill because Abbey’s pitch was too hard, and the home side ran in six tries, with winger Sam Hindley claiming a hat trick. In reply, the visitors worked hard for their two tries, both of which went to hard-working flanker Ed House.
Abbey had a disastrous start to the game and went behind inside 40 seconds. Marlow winger Stuart Jordan caught the kick-off inside his 22 and burst up the right touchline before cutting infield. Abbey winger Dan Norville stopped him, but the ball was quickly moved to the left and Hindley sprinted clear to score. Full back Chris Witney attempted the conversion, but he hooked his kick to the left of the posts.
Abbey lost their first lineout and conceded a penalty at the first scrum, but good tackling from flanker George House and prop Jack Stevenson halted the next home attack. Marlow were penalised, but after outside half John Malivoire had found a good touch the lineout was lost again. Marlow lock Ben Smith and No.8 Alex Spicer both made dangerous breaks, but strong tackling from George House and prop Adam Postlethwaite kept Abbey in the game. However, Marlow broke through for the second time in the 11th minute when Witney’s pass put Hindley in the clear. The winger sprinted round to touch down under the posts, leaving Witney with a simple conversion.
Abbey began to settle into some sort of rhythm in the next few minutes, with winger Jack Brown impressing with a clever dodging run. Stevenson drove well and young scrum half Sol Wallis-Robinson put Marlow under pressure with a high kick. Ed House stole possession with a great turnover and centre Sam Andrews sent a long kick into the home 22. Marlow won the lineout and drove 15 metres, but after they lost the ball another good run from Brown put Abbey on the front foot. Unfortunately, the ball was knocked on, but Abbey took the next scrum against the head and skipper Mike Beckly took play back into the Marlow 22. Stevenson stole a wayward Marlow lineout throw, and second rows Gerry Sutherland and Toby Staker both made ground before the ball was lost.
They next phase of play saw Wallis-Robinson putting in a great tackle on his opposite number, and then centre Charlie Shackleford barged up the middle of the park. He received good support from Postlethwaite and Norville, but possession was lost again. Great scrummaging from Stevenson earned Abbey a penalty, and the prop again cleared up at the subsequent lineout. Staker, Beckly, Norville and Sutherland combined in a good handling move, but after Sutherland was tackled into touch, Marlow won the lineout and drove 20 metres upfield.
Wallis-Robinson showed great strength to retain the ball at the next scrum when harassed by the opposition, and another burst from Shackleford was well backed up by Ed House, Malivoire and Staker. Abbey conceded a penalty, but after the Marlow lineout throw went wide, Shackleford drove into the Marlow half. Soon after this, another promising move was spoiled by the penalty for crossing, and Witney stretched his side’s lead to 15-0 with a 35 metre kick.
Abbey dominated territory for the next few minutes, with Beckly, Wallis-Robinson and Shackleford all to the fore. The visitors’ scrum looked very solid, and Staker, Stevenson and Ed House took play closer to the home line. Wallis-Robinson nearly found full back Alex Langford-Pollard with a long kick into the home 22, and the final action of the first half saw Staker running well before being tackled into touch. Abbey had certainly improved after their bad start, but they had failed to catch clean lineout ball for the entire opening 40 minutes.
Three changes were made at half time, with Ollie Charlton, Josh Stitt and Max Boucher coming on for Sutherland, Ed House and hooker Matt Hart. The changes saw Brown move from the wing to the back row, while Postlethwaite went to hooker. Abbey attacked well, with Beckly and young Stitt handling well, but the move was halted when Staker was held up. Then, at long last, Abbey won clean lineout ball through Staker, and they instantly benefitted, with Shackleford making 15 metres to the right. Minutes later the centre was punching holes in the home defence yet again, with Beckly and Andrews in close support. The visitors then received a boost when Spicer was shown a yellow card. Shackleford struck the resulting penalty brilliantly, and Abbey finally had some points on the board.
Marlow tried a short restart kick, and almost at once Abbey lost their man advantage when Charlton was carded for stopping the home side from playing the ball. Witney was wide of the target with the subsequent penalty, and Abbey defended well for the next few minutes, with Boucher running well to take play clear of the visitors’ line. However, Marlow broke clear again in the 57th minute, and a brilliant long pass from centre George Jafari put Jordan clear. The big winger crossed wide on the right, and Witney made the score 22-3 with a superb conversion kick.
Beckly made a great 25 metre run when Abbey were next in possession, and Wallis-Robinson, Staker and Malivoire carried on the move. When Marlow attacked again a great tackle from Boucher stopped centre Charlie Cotton, but the home side soon had a full team again with Spicer returning from the bin. At the same time, Hart returned to the action, replacing Stevenson. Staker got another good clean catch at the next lineout and Shackleford made ten metres with another strong run. Charlton’s bin time ended soon afterwards, and this coincided with Sutherland coming on for Staker. Marlow had been looking more and more threatening as the half progressed, and after 64 minutes hooker Stuart Silvester dummied on the Abbey 22 metre line and sent flanker Ian Thomson on his way to score his side’s bonus point try. Another good conversion from Witney made the score 29-3.
At this point, referee Adam Glen blew for a drinks break, fooling at least one home player, who called for three cheers, thinking that the game was over! When play restarted, Ed House returned to the field, replacing his brother, and Abbey enjoyed another good spell of possession. Malivoire sent up a couple of testing high kicks, Shackleford looked as dangerous as ever when in possession, and Charlton and Wallis-Robinson both made ground. Stitt made the first of a series of good lineout takes, and after yet another Shackleford burst, Ed House took the ball and stormed over the line under the posts. It was a well-deserved score after so much hard work from the Abbey side, and Shackleford added the straightforward conversion to make the score 29-10.
Sutherland made 15 metres from the restart kick, and Staker returned to the field in place of Andrews. With two minutes of normal time remaining, Hindley was put in the clear again and ran in under the posts to claim his hat trick, Witney again converting. Soon afterwards, Sutherland was injured again, and when he came off Abbey decided not to replace him as the other players on the side-lines had all received knocks. This caused no immediate problems for the visitors, and after great lineout work from Stitt, Wallis-Robinson dodged his way to the shadow of the Marlow posts. The ball was recycled, and Ed House burst clear to cross the line again. This time Shackleford could not convert, but Abbey looked to be finishing the game strongly. They tried to attack once more, but Marlow pinched possession in last play and a long, looping (and possibly forward) pass sent Hindley over the line once more. Clearly not wishing to claim a fourth try, he passed the ball to Cotton, who touched down for his side’s sixth and final try. Witney’s hastily drop-kicked conversion went wide, and the final whistle sounded.
This was a gallant effort from Abbey, and they made far more of a game of things than the final score might suggest. Marlow were always going to win with their strong and experienced side, and the victory took them to the top of the table, but the visitors can take a lot of positives from the match. Wallis-Robinson looked as confident and mature as he did at High Wycombe last week, and Stitt and Boucher both looked more than promising in their second half cameos. Beckly and Ed House worked hard, as did Stevenson, while Shackleford ran throughout with devastating effect. Staker and Sutherland too looked good in the loose, while Malivoire directed play neatly at number ten. Above all, the team spirt was excellent, and the players were constantly encouraging each other. The local derby at Reading next Saturday should provide plenty of drama for the supporters of both sides.
Abbey: A Langford-Pollard, J Brown, S Andrews (T Staker 76), C Shackleford, D Norville, J Malivoire, S Wallis-Robinson, A Postlethwaite, M Hart (O Charlton 40), J Stevenson (M Hart 60), G Sutherland (J Stitt 40), T Staker (G Sutherland 63), G House (E House 65), E House (M Boucher 40), M Beckly (captain)
Marlow: C Witney, S Hindley, C Cotton, G Jafari (P Lewis 63), S Jordan, H Jafari (captain, P Lewis 24-28), F Lewis, T Yate, S Silvester, C Clarke (J Richardson 47), B Smith (S Rivett 60), J Henderson, B Renucci, I Thomson (B Smith 76), A Spicer
Abbey:
Tries: E House (2)
Con: Shackleford
Pen: Shackleford
Marlow:
Tries: Hindley (3), Jordan, Thomson, Cotton
Con: Witney (4)
Pen: Witney
Yellow cards:
Abbey: Charlton
Marlow: Spicer
Referee: A Glen (Gloucestershire)
Mark Hoskins
A courageous and relatively inexperienced Abbey squad battled bravely and showed great team spirit in defeat at Marlow. The match was switched from Rosehill because Abbey’s pitch was too hard, and the home side ran in six tries, with winger Sam Hindley claiming a hat trick. In reply, the visitors worked hard for their two tries, both of which went to hard-working flanker Ed House.
Abbey had a disastrous start to the game and went behind inside 40 seconds. Marlow winger Stuart Jordan caught the kick-off inside his 22 and burst up the right touchline before cutting infield. Abbey winger Dan Norville stopped him, but the ball was quickly moved to the left and Hindley sprinted clear to score. Full back Chris Witney attempted the conversion, but he hooked his kick to the left of the posts.
Abbey lost their first lineout and conceded a penalty at the first scrum, but good tackling from flanker George House and prop Jack Stevenson halted the next home attack. Marlow were penalised, but after outside half John Malivoire had found a good touch the lineout was lost again. Marlow lock Ben Smith and No.8 Alex Spicer both made dangerous breaks, but strong tackling from George House and prop Adam Postlethwaite kept Abbey in the game. However, Marlow broke through for the second time in the 11th minute when Witney’s pass put Hindley in the clear. The winger sprinted round to touch down under the posts, leaving Witney with a simple conversion.
Abbey began to settle into some sort of rhythm in the next few minutes, with winger Jack Brown impressing with a clever dodging run. Stevenson drove well and young scrum half Sol Wallis-Robinson put Marlow under pressure with a high kick. Ed House stole possession with a great turnover and centre Sam Andrews sent a long kick into the home 22. Marlow won the lineout and drove 15 metres, but after they lost the ball another good run from Brown put Abbey on the front foot. Unfortunately, the ball was knocked on, but Abbey took the next scrum against the head and skipper Mike Beckly took play back into the Marlow 22. Stevenson stole a wayward Marlow lineout throw, and second rows Gerry Sutherland and Toby Staker both made ground before the ball was lost.
They next phase of play saw Wallis-Robinson putting in a great tackle on his opposite number, and then centre Charlie Shackleford barged up the middle of the park. He received good support from Postlethwaite and Norville, but possession was lost again. Great scrummaging from Stevenson earned Abbey a penalty, and the prop again cleared up at the subsequent lineout. Staker, Beckly, Norville and Sutherland combined in a good handling move, but after Sutherland was tackled into touch, Marlow won the lineout and drove 20 metres upfield.
Wallis-Robinson showed great strength to retain the ball at the next scrum when harassed by the opposition, and another burst from Shackleford was well backed up by Ed House, Malivoire and Staker. Abbey conceded a penalty, but after the Marlow lineout throw went wide, Shackleford drove into the Marlow half. Soon after this, another promising move was spoiled by the penalty for crossing, and Witney stretched his side’s lead to 15-0 with a 35 metre kick.
Abbey dominated territory for the next few minutes, with Beckly, Wallis-Robinson and Shackleford all to the fore. The visitors’ scrum looked very solid, and Staker, Stevenson and Ed House took play closer to the home line. Wallis-Robinson nearly found full back Alex Langford-Pollard with a long kick into the home 22, and the final action of the first half saw Staker running well before being tackled into touch. Abbey had certainly improved after their bad start, but they had failed to catch clean lineout ball for the entire opening 40 minutes.
Three changes were made at half time, with Ollie Charlton, Josh Stitt and Max Boucher coming on for Sutherland, Ed House and hooker Matt Hart. The changes saw Brown move from the wing to the back row, while Postlethwaite went to hooker. Abbey attacked well, with Beckly and young Stitt handling well, but the move was halted when Staker was held up. Then, at long last, Abbey won clean lineout ball through Staker, and they instantly benefitted, with Shackleford making 15 metres to the right. Minutes later the centre was punching holes in the home defence yet again, with Beckly and Andrews in close support. The visitors then received a boost when Spicer was shown a yellow card. Shackleford struck the resulting penalty brilliantly, and Abbey finally had some points on the board.
Marlow tried a short restart kick, and almost at once Abbey lost their man advantage when Charlton was carded for stopping the home side from playing the ball. Witney was wide of the target with the subsequent penalty, and Abbey defended well for the next few minutes, with Boucher running well to take play clear of the visitors’ line. However, Marlow broke clear again in the 57th minute, and a brilliant long pass from centre George Jafari put Jordan clear. The big winger crossed wide on the right, and Witney made the score 22-3 with a superb conversion kick.
Beckly made a great 25 metre run when Abbey were next in possession, and Wallis-Robinson, Staker and Malivoire carried on the move. When Marlow attacked again a great tackle from Boucher stopped centre Charlie Cotton, but the home side soon had a full team again with Spicer returning from the bin. At the same time, Hart returned to the action, replacing Stevenson. Staker got another good clean catch at the next lineout and Shackleford made ten metres with another strong run. Charlton’s bin time ended soon afterwards, and this coincided with Sutherland coming on for Staker. Marlow had been looking more and more threatening as the half progressed, and after 64 minutes hooker Stuart Silvester dummied on the Abbey 22 metre line and sent flanker Ian Thomson on his way to score his side’s bonus point try. Another good conversion from Witney made the score 29-3.
At this point, referee Adam Glen blew for a drinks break, fooling at least one home player, who called for three cheers, thinking that the game was over! When play restarted, Ed House returned to the field, replacing his brother, and Abbey enjoyed another good spell of possession. Malivoire sent up a couple of testing high kicks, Shackleford looked as dangerous as ever when in possession, and Charlton and Wallis-Robinson both made ground. Stitt made the first of a series of good lineout takes, and after yet another Shackleford burst, Ed House took the ball and stormed over the line under the posts. It was a well-deserved score after so much hard work from the Abbey side, and Shackleford added the straightforward conversion to make the score 29-10.
Sutherland made 15 metres from the restart kick, and Staker returned to the field in place of Andrews. With two minutes of normal time remaining, Hindley was put in the clear again and ran in under the posts to claim his hat trick, Witney again converting. Soon afterwards, Sutherland was injured again, and when he came off Abbey decided not to replace him as the other players on the side-lines had all received knocks. This caused no immediate problems for the visitors, and after great lineout work from Stitt, Wallis-Robinson dodged his way to the shadow of the Marlow posts. The ball was recycled, and Ed House burst clear to cross the line again. This time Shackleford could not convert, but Abbey looked to be finishing the game strongly. They tried to attack once more, but Marlow pinched possession in last play and a long, looping (and possibly forward) pass sent Hindley over the line once more. Clearly not wishing to claim a fourth try, he passed the ball to Cotton, who touched down for his side’s sixth and final try. Witney’s hastily drop-kicked conversion went wide, and the final whistle sounded.
This was a gallant effort from Abbey, and they made far more of a game of things than the final score might suggest. Marlow were always going to win with their strong and experienced side, and the victory took them to the top of the table, but the visitors can take a lot of positives from the match. Wallis-Robinson looked as confident and mature as he did at High Wycombe last week, and Stitt and Boucher both looked more than promising in their second half cameos. Beckly and Ed House worked hard, as did Stevenson, while Shackleford ran throughout with devastating effect. Staker and Sutherland too looked good in the loose, while Malivoire directed play neatly at number ten. Above all, the team spirt was excellent, and the players were constantly encouraging each other. The local derby at Reading next Saturday should provide plenty of drama for the supporters of both sides.
Abbey: A Langford-Pollard, J Brown, S Andrews (T Staker 76), C Shackleford, D Norville, J Malivoire, S Wallis-Robinson, A Postlethwaite, M Hart (O Charlton 40), J Stevenson (M Hart 60), G Sutherland (J Stitt 40), T Staker (G Sutherland 63), G House (E House 65), E House (M Boucher 40), M Beckly (captain)
Marlow: C Witney, S Hindley, C Cotton, G Jafari (P Lewis 63), S Jordan, H Jafari (captain, P Lewis 24-28), F Lewis, T Yate, S Silvester, C Clarke (J Richardson 47), B Smith (S Rivett 60), J Henderson, B Renucci, I Thomson (B Smith 76), A Spicer
Abbey:
Tries: E House (2)
Con: Shackleford
Pen: Shackleford
Marlow:
Tries: Hindley (3), Jordan, Thomson, Cotton
Con: Witney (4)
Pen: Witney
Yellow cards:
Abbey: Charlton
Marlow: Spicer
Referee: A Glen (Gloucestershire)
