Sat 14 Dec 2019, 14:30
Reading Abbey 24 Didcot 24
Mark Hoskins
Abbey were fortunate to escape with a draw in their pre-Christmas fixture at Rosehill after being outplayed for much of the second half by fellow-strugglers Didcot. The visitors scored three tries to Abbey’s two, and the home side’s only score in a lengthy second period was a simple penalty from centre Charlie Shackleford. With both sides getting two points from the game, there is no change at the bottom of Wadworth Southern Counties North going into the Christmas break, with Abbey in tenth position and Didcot a place below them.
Abbey made a bright start, and Shackleford’s powerful early burst almost created an opening for Darren Hunter, but the winger was called back for a forward pass. Second row Toby Staker won the first lineout of the game, but Abbey lost the ball at the subsequent maul and winger Max Boucher did well to stop his opposite number Josh Witts. When Abbey regained possession, No.8 Max Courtnage made ten metres with a strong run, and second row Gerry Sutherland continued the attack. Then, a clever break from outside half John Malivoire took play into the Didcot 22. After good support from prop Adam Postlethwaite and flanker George House, the visitors were penalised and then taken back a further ten metres when skipper Will Bevan was impeded after his quick tap. This gave Shackleford a simple kick at goal to give Abbey the lead after seven minutes.
Didcot almost got back into the game two minutes later when Witts made a break into the home 22, but his pass was knocked on. Abbey countered well, with Courtnage making a great 20 metre break. Sutherland, Staker and prop Lewis Jones made further ground, and then centre Arron Ross broke to the right and fed Staker. Staker’s pass to flanker Mike Beckly took play close to the Didcot line, and the visitors were penalised again. Shackleford made no mistake with his kick, and Abbey led 6-0 after 14 minutes.
Staker won another good lineout ball for Abbey, and Bevan’s high kick put Didcot under pressure. When the ball was kicked back into home territory, full back Jules Greenaway caught and ran well, but Abbey failed to control the ball at the next ruck and lost possession. Didcot mounted an attack, and after Abbey were penalised Witts missed a kick at goal from 30 metres. After the penalty miss, Malivoire kicked his 22 metre drop out a long way, and when Didcot ran back at Abbey Hunter’s tap tackle stopped a potentially dangerous move. Courtnage stole the ball in a maul and made ten metres, but possession was lost again, and suddenly Abbey were in trouble. Centre Stephen Moran, who was to prove the outstanding back on the field, started off a move which resulted in scrum half Jake Dawson breaking 40 metres from the line and sprinting clear to score. Witts converted, and Abbey’s good start had come to nothing.
At this point Abbey suffered a blow, with Courtnage limping out of the action – a pity, as he had looked more than impressive in the opening quarter. Treacle Knights came on in his place to make his 100th first team appearance, with Beckly moving to No.8. The Didcot try appeared to galvanise Abbey’s forwards, and Sutherland and Staker made good ground to take play into the visitors’ 22. Once again Didcot conceded a penalty in a comfortably kickable position, and once again Shackleford obliged with the points to put Abbey back in front. Unfortunately, Staker departed at this point after being kicked in the back, and this brought Will Woodward into the action and necessitated a further positional reorganisation in the pack.
Abbey then enjoyed what was to prove their most dominant period of the game. Malivoire’s penalty kick to the corner set up the perfect attacking platform, and after Knights had won the lineout, Jones and Postlethwaite drove for the line. Didcot defended well, but Abbey were awarded the first of three consecutive scrums five metres from the line and close to the right hand touchline. Up to this point the scrums had been pretty even, but Abbey really applied the pressure at this stage. Woodward controlled the ball brilliantly on the first two occasions, but each time the set piece was called again. Then, at the third scrum, he broke from the back and powered his way over for a great try. Shackleford’s missed conversion was his only failure from the tee during the afternoon.
Sutherland comfortably caught Dicot’s restart kick, and Bevan’s box kick forced a knock on. Then, to the horror of the home supporters, Abbey were comprehensively shoved off their own put in, and only a knock on spoiled a promising situation for Didcot. The next scrum saw Woodward uncharacteristically lose the ball in attempting to break, and soon Moran was causing more problems for the home defence. His clever break split Abbey’s defence in two, and a well-timed pass sent full back Chris Newson away to score a try to the right of the posts. Witts’s successful conversion levelled the scores.
Jack Stevenson came on for Jones at this point, and once again Abbey seemed to come to life after conceding a score. Sutherland picked up a loose ball and fed Malivoire, whose clever diagonal kick was taken into touch inside the Didcot 22. Knights won the lineout, and House broke from the maul and charged over to score in the right corner. Shackleford’s brilliant touchline conversion put Abbey 21-14 ahead, but Didcot looked more threatening in the finals two minutes of the half, with Moran again impressing. Fortunately, Abbey were in possession for the last play, and Malivoire’s touch kick ended the first 40 minutes.
Anybody who expected Abbey to kick on and go in search of further points was soon to be disappointed as the second half got under way. Knights won early lineout ball, but Didcot regained possession and Sutherland did well to stop centre Isa Mohammed. Didcot continued to press however, and when Abbey were penalised in the 46th minute, Witts kicked a good goal to cut the lead to four points. Bevan and Greenaway attacked well after the restart, and Malivoire’s chip took play into the Didcot 22. Hooker Jake Leach made good ground along with Beckly, but after Knights broke clear, play was called back for a previous knock on.
With 15 minutes of the second half played, Jones returned in place of Leach and took over the throwing in duties. Knights won another lineout and Stevenson drove well, but Abbey lost the ball and had to rely on a good tackle from Ross to stop a Newson break. Shackleford sent an excellent kick to the halfway line, but after this Abbey seemed collectively to lose their way and Didcot began to look more skilful and much hungrier for points. Newson made another good break, this time being stopped by Hunter’s tackle, but Didcot set up camp inside the home 22 and looked increasingly strong in the scrums. Second row Andy Cooke looked to be in the clear for a try, but there had been a forward pass in the build-up. Eventually the visitors forced an error from Abbey, and Moran again made a crucial break. Once more he found Dawson up in support, and the scrum half sped away to score a try under the posts which Witts converted. At this stage there were ten minutes left of normal time, but it was clear from various stoppages that there was actually much longer than this still to play.
Belatedly, Abbey raised their game, and for the first and only time in the half they managed to set up a decent platform in the Didcot 22. Postlethwaite, Sutherland, Jones and Beckly all drove well, and a series of picks and drives in the shadow of the posts looked certain to result in a try. However, Dicot held firm until they conceded a penalty, and the wise decision was taken to go for goal to level the scores rather than risk a five metre scrum. Shackleford duly goaled from right under the sticks, and thing were all square once again.
In terms of elapsed time, 80 minutes had now been played, but a lengthy period of injury time ensued, eventually resulting in a 56 minute second half. Staker came back on in place of House and instantly won good lineout ball for Abbey. Boucher had a clever run up the left touchline, but Didcot looked more likely to score as the game neared its conclusion. Twice Abbey had chances to set up a late attack, but on both occasions Shackleford’s over-ambitious penalties failed to find touch. On each occasion Didcot counterattacked dangerously and Abbey did well to halt a series of slick handling moves from the visitors’ backs. The final minutes saw Leach return in place of Sutherland, while a few of the floodlights also decided to depart, leaving the closing moves to be played in a gathering gloom. The final whistle was more of a relief to Abbey than Didcot, as the visitors still looked dangerous right up to the last play of the game.
In recent games Abbey have looked a better side after the break, but this was certainly not the case against Didcot. The visitors had a skilful set of threequarters, with Moran quite outstanding, and their pack was good enough to nullify any threat Abbey might have posed at the scrums. Abbey for their part looked good at times in the first half, but rarely shone thereafter. It was fortunate that their only serious attack of the second half yielded a score. For a team very firmly mired in a relegation battle, Didcot look far too good to be where they are, and they will have been disappointed not to have snatched all five points on offer. Abbey certainly had their moments both in attack and defence, with Staker playing particularly well, but they will need to be far more consistent when they return to league action in the New Year.
Abbey: J Greenaway, D Hunter, A Ross, C Shackleford, M Boucher, J Malivoire, W Bevan (captain), A Postlethwaite, J Leach (L Jones 55), L Jones (J Stevenson 35), T Staker (W Woodward 27), G Sutherland (J Leach 93), G House (T Staker 81), M Beckly, M Courtnage (J Knights 22)
Didcot: C Newson, J Witts, I Mohammed, S Moran, F Arnott (N Ghorbancan 72), A Pynegar, J Dawson, M Mavis (C Phillips 10-40), C Mccaffery, A Davies, R Pengelly, A Cooke, D Taylor, T Kennedy (captain), B Huxley (A Bordeaux 65)
Abbey:
Tries: Woodward, House
Con: Shackleford
Pen: Shackleford (4)
Didcot:
Tries: Dawson (2), Newson
Con: Witts (3)
Pen: Witts
Referee: N Curtin (Berkshire)
Mark Hoskins
Abbey were fortunate to escape with a draw in their pre-Christmas fixture at Rosehill after being outplayed for much of the second half by fellow-strugglers Didcot. The visitors scored three tries to Abbey’s two, and the home side’s only score in a lengthy second period was a simple penalty from centre Charlie Shackleford. With both sides getting two points from the game, there is no change at the bottom of Wadworth Southern Counties North going into the Christmas break, with Abbey in tenth position and Didcot a place below them.
Abbey made a bright start, and Shackleford’s powerful early burst almost created an opening for Darren Hunter, but the winger was called back for a forward pass. Second row Toby Staker won the first lineout of the game, but Abbey lost the ball at the subsequent maul and winger Max Boucher did well to stop his opposite number Josh Witts. When Abbey regained possession, No.8 Max Courtnage made ten metres with a strong run, and second row Gerry Sutherland continued the attack. Then, a clever break from outside half John Malivoire took play into the Didcot 22. After good support from prop Adam Postlethwaite and flanker George House, the visitors were penalised and then taken back a further ten metres when skipper Will Bevan was impeded after his quick tap. This gave Shackleford a simple kick at goal to give Abbey the lead after seven minutes.
Didcot almost got back into the game two minutes later when Witts made a break into the home 22, but his pass was knocked on. Abbey countered well, with Courtnage making a great 20 metre break. Sutherland, Staker and prop Lewis Jones made further ground, and then centre Arron Ross broke to the right and fed Staker. Staker’s pass to flanker Mike Beckly took play close to the Didcot line, and the visitors were penalised again. Shackleford made no mistake with his kick, and Abbey led 6-0 after 14 minutes.
Staker won another good lineout ball for Abbey, and Bevan’s high kick put Didcot under pressure. When the ball was kicked back into home territory, full back Jules Greenaway caught and ran well, but Abbey failed to control the ball at the next ruck and lost possession. Didcot mounted an attack, and after Abbey were penalised Witts missed a kick at goal from 30 metres. After the penalty miss, Malivoire kicked his 22 metre drop out a long way, and when Didcot ran back at Abbey Hunter’s tap tackle stopped a potentially dangerous move. Courtnage stole the ball in a maul and made ten metres, but possession was lost again, and suddenly Abbey were in trouble. Centre Stephen Moran, who was to prove the outstanding back on the field, started off a move which resulted in scrum half Jake Dawson breaking 40 metres from the line and sprinting clear to score. Witts converted, and Abbey’s good start had come to nothing.
At this point Abbey suffered a blow, with Courtnage limping out of the action – a pity, as he had looked more than impressive in the opening quarter. Treacle Knights came on in his place to make his 100th first team appearance, with Beckly moving to No.8. The Didcot try appeared to galvanise Abbey’s forwards, and Sutherland and Staker made good ground to take play into the visitors’ 22. Once again Didcot conceded a penalty in a comfortably kickable position, and once again Shackleford obliged with the points to put Abbey back in front. Unfortunately, Staker departed at this point after being kicked in the back, and this brought Will Woodward into the action and necessitated a further positional reorganisation in the pack.
Abbey then enjoyed what was to prove their most dominant period of the game. Malivoire’s penalty kick to the corner set up the perfect attacking platform, and after Knights had won the lineout, Jones and Postlethwaite drove for the line. Didcot defended well, but Abbey were awarded the first of three consecutive scrums five metres from the line and close to the right hand touchline. Up to this point the scrums had been pretty even, but Abbey really applied the pressure at this stage. Woodward controlled the ball brilliantly on the first two occasions, but each time the set piece was called again. Then, at the third scrum, he broke from the back and powered his way over for a great try. Shackleford’s missed conversion was his only failure from the tee during the afternoon.
Sutherland comfortably caught Dicot’s restart kick, and Bevan’s box kick forced a knock on. Then, to the horror of the home supporters, Abbey were comprehensively shoved off their own put in, and only a knock on spoiled a promising situation for Didcot. The next scrum saw Woodward uncharacteristically lose the ball in attempting to break, and soon Moran was causing more problems for the home defence. His clever break split Abbey’s defence in two, and a well-timed pass sent full back Chris Newson away to score a try to the right of the posts. Witts’s successful conversion levelled the scores.
Jack Stevenson came on for Jones at this point, and once again Abbey seemed to come to life after conceding a score. Sutherland picked up a loose ball and fed Malivoire, whose clever diagonal kick was taken into touch inside the Didcot 22. Knights won the lineout, and House broke from the maul and charged over to score in the right corner. Shackleford’s brilliant touchline conversion put Abbey 21-14 ahead, but Didcot looked more threatening in the finals two minutes of the half, with Moran again impressing. Fortunately, Abbey were in possession for the last play, and Malivoire’s touch kick ended the first 40 minutes.
Anybody who expected Abbey to kick on and go in search of further points was soon to be disappointed as the second half got under way. Knights won early lineout ball, but Didcot regained possession and Sutherland did well to stop centre Isa Mohammed. Didcot continued to press however, and when Abbey were penalised in the 46th minute, Witts kicked a good goal to cut the lead to four points. Bevan and Greenaway attacked well after the restart, and Malivoire’s chip took play into the Didcot 22. Hooker Jake Leach made good ground along with Beckly, but after Knights broke clear, play was called back for a previous knock on.
With 15 minutes of the second half played, Jones returned in place of Leach and took over the throwing in duties. Knights won another lineout and Stevenson drove well, but Abbey lost the ball and had to rely on a good tackle from Ross to stop a Newson break. Shackleford sent an excellent kick to the halfway line, but after this Abbey seemed collectively to lose their way and Didcot began to look more skilful and much hungrier for points. Newson made another good break, this time being stopped by Hunter’s tackle, but Didcot set up camp inside the home 22 and looked increasingly strong in the scrums. Second row Andy Cooke looked to be in the clear for a try, but there had been a forward pass in the build-up. Eventually the visitors forced an error from Abbey, and Moran again made a crucial break. Once more he found Dawson up in support, and the scrum half sped away to score a try under the posts which Witts converted. At this stage there were ten minutes left of normal time, but it was clear from various stoppages that there was actually much longer than this still to play.
Belatedly, Abbey raised their game, and for the first and only time in the half they managed to set up a decent platform in the Didcot 22. Postlethwaite, Sutherland, Jones and Beckly all drove well, and a series of picks and drives in the shadow of the posts looked certain to result in a try. However, Dicot held firm until they conceded a penalty, and the wise decision was taken to go for goal to level the scores rather than risk a five metre scrum. Shackleford duly goaled from right under the sticks, and thing were all square once again.
In terms of elapsed time, 80 minutes had now been played, but a lengthy period of injury time ensued, eventually resulting in a 56 minute second half. Staker came back on in place of House and instantly won good lineout ball for Abbey. Boucher had a clever run up the left touchline, but Didcot looked more likely to score as the game neared its conclusion. Twice Abbey had chances to set up a late attack, but on both occasions Shackleford’s over-ambitious penalties failed to find touch. On each occasion Didcot counterattacked dangerously and Abbey did well to halt a series of slick handling moves from the visitors’ backs. The final minutes saw Leach return in place of Sutherland, while a few of the floodlights also decided to depart, leaving the closing moves to be played in a gathering gloom. The final whistle was more of a relief to Abbey than Didcot, as the visitors still looked dangerous right up to the last play of the game.
In recent games Abbey have looked a better side after the break, but this was certainly not the case against Didcot. The visitors had a skilful set of threequarters, with Moran quite outstanding, and their pack was good enough to nullify any threat Abbey might have posed at the scrums. Abbey for their part looked good at times in the first half, but rarely shone thereafter. It was fortunate that their only serious attack of the second half yielded a score. For a team very firmly mired in a relegation battle, Didcot look far too good to be where they are, and they will have been disappointed not to have snatched all five points on offer. Abbey certainly had their moments both in attack and defence, with Staker playing particularly well, but they will need to be far more consistent when they return to league action in the New Year.
Abbey: J Greenaway, D Hunter, A Ross, C Shackleford, M Boucher, J Malivoire, W Bevan (captain), A Postlethwaite, J Leach (L Jones 55), L Jones (J Stevenson 35), T Staker (W Woodward 27), G Sutherland (J Leach 93), G House (T Staker 81), M Beckly, M Courtnage (J Knights 22)
Didcot: C Newson, J Witts, I Mohammed, S Moran, F Arnott (N Ghorbancan 72), A Pynegar, J Dawson, M Mavis (C Phillips 10-40), C Mccaffery, A Davies, R Pengelly, A Cooke, D Taylor, T Kennedy (captain), B Huxley (A Bordeaux 65)
Abbey:
Tries: Woodward, House
Con: Shackleford
Pen: Shackleford (4)
Didcot:
Tries: Dawson (2), Newson
Con: Witts (3)
Pen: Witts
Referee: N Curtin (Berkshire)
