Sat 27 Nov 2021, 14:30
Abbey battled bravely on a blustery afternoon at Rosehill, but Reading emerged comfortable winners in the local derby. The visitors possessed far too much strength up front, while Abbey’s cause was not helped by their discipline, with three players being shown yellow cards. Reading scored five tries in total, while Abbey’s only score was a penalty from full back Ben Radford.
A strong, swirling wind slightly favoured Reading in the first half. A clever chip by outside half Will Bevan gave Abbey early territorial advantage, but after just two minutes they lost prop Adam Postlethwaite with a head injury. Gereie Sutherland replaced him, but Postlethwaite was able to return six minutes later with his head bandaged. Reading were awarded the opening scrum of the game, and they pushed Abbey backwards before theirimpressive flanker Gavin Egan made a break. More worryingly for Abbey, they were pushed off the ball and driven back five metres when they had the put in at the next scrum. Shortly after this Abbey were penalised, and Reading’s superiority in the set piece was underlined when the visitors opted to take a scrum from the penalty.
Abbey were penned in their own half for almost the entire opening fifteen minutes, but they survived the early onslaught. When they were next awarded a scrum, No.8 Mike Beckly did well to retain possession and scrum half Sol Wallis-Robinson made a break. Radford kicked into the Reading half, but after Abbey conceded a penalty referee Zach Kinnaird warned skipper ‘Treacle’ Knights. Soon afterwards Abbey were penalised again, and Knights was yellow-carded. Reading kicked for touch inside Abbey’s 22, but good tackling from centre Will Parrish, winger Callum House and flanker Scott Holland kept the visitors out. There was a brief moment of relief when Reading lost the ball after a great tackle from centre Charlie Shackleford, and Parrish kicked ahead into the visitors’ half. Abbey momentarily threatened inside the Reading 22, but an interception brought their attack to an end.
Not long afterwards, Abbey were penalised again, and this time Beckly was binned for an offence at a ruck. Reading understandably chose the scrum option once more from the penalty, but a great tackle by Wallis-Robinson halted No.8 Ryan Smith. However, the visitors finally made it to the line just after the half hour mark, when a smart handling move saw full back Alex Dorliac score a try in the right corner. He was unable to convert his own score.
Knights returned to the action as the game restarted, and winger Jon Malivoire did well to catch a high Reading kick under pressure. Radford sent up a high kick of his own, and after a good run from House, Reading were forced to drop out from their own line. But the visitors were soon back on the attack again, and they increased their lead four minutes before the break when outside half Scott Howell cut through the defence with a brilliant run to send winger Stuart Borthwick over the line close to the posts. Dorliac converted, after which Beckly returned to the action. Unfortunately, Bevan left the field at the same time with an injury, with Lewis Haigh replacing him. The final action of the first half saw Abbey awarded a penalty thirty metres from the Reading line and Radford kicked the points from what was to prove his only attempt at goal during the afternoon. This made the half time score 12-3 to Reading.
Reading were soon on the attack again as the second half got underway, and Abbey were relieved when the visitors were penalised at a five metre scrum. Holland made a good break and was supported by second row Chris Shaw, but after the ball was lost Abbey were grateful for a fine tackle by Parrish as the visitors counterattacked. Radford, who had moved to outside half following Bevan’s departure, kicked downfield after Abbey won a lineout in their own 22, but Reading ran the ball back. A good handling move ensued, and it concluded with Borthwick breaking clear to score his second try after 46 minutes, Dorliac again converting.
Wallis-Robinson, Radford and Parrish combined well as Abbey launched an attack from their own half, and Sam Hallett came on to replace Shaw. He was instantly involved in the action, dispossessing a Reading forward, and Knights broke clear. Reading were penalised, and flanker Max Nugent won the subsequent lineout. Radford kicked high into the visitors’ 22, but the ball was lost. Sutherland came on again, this time to replace hard-working prop Ollie Charlton, and Shackleford made a good break. Sadly, possession was lost again, and just after this Shackleford became Abbey’s third binned player of the afternoon following a reckless tackle. Knights won the next lineout for Abbey, but despite a promising move involving Wallis-Robinson, Hallett and Beckly, Reading were soon back in possession. They counterattacked well up the left hand side of the pitch, and after a series of forward drives Smith crossed for the bonus point try after 64 minutes, with Dorliac adding an excellent conversion from close to the touchline.
Shackleford returned to the action, and a good move involving Radford, Sutherland, Nugent and hooker Jake Leach ended only when House was driven into touch. Soon after this, Radford made great ground with a touch kick from a penalty, but the ball was lost inside the Reading 22. The visitorscounterattacked well up the right touchline, and after a slick bout of handling centre Peter Czernuszka sprinted away to score the best try of the afternoon. Dorliac was unfortunate to see his conversion attempt bounce wide off a post, and shortly after this the final whistle sounded. There appeared to be some four minutes remaining at this point, but with the result never in doubt and the temperature dropping, nobody was complaining.
Nobody could fault Abbey’s commitment and courage during this game, and they never let their heads drop on a challenging afternoon. Reading are clearly one of the better sides in Tribute Southern Counties North, with a solid pack and plenty of creativity behind the scrum. Abbey were grateful for the long relieving kicks of Radford, while Parrish looked a real threat in attack when given the opportunity. The scrum was an area of concern, but again nobody could fault Abbey’s effort at the set pieces. They will hope for a more even forward contest when they visit Bicester next weekend.
Abbey: B Radford, J Malivoire, W Parrish, C Shackleford, C House, W Bevan (L Haigh 35), S Wallis-Robinson, O Charlton (G Sutherland 57), J Leach, A Postlethwaite (G Sutherland 2-8), J Knights (captain), C Shaw (S Hallett 51), S Holland, M Nugent, M Beckly
Reading: A Dorliac, S Borthwick (B Fraser 67), A Murray-Smith, C Czernuszka, C Greig-Jenkins, S Howell, D Fry, J Pallett (S King 74), A Watson, S King (J Nicol 40), A Jones, A Parr (captain, W Proctor-Searle 46), F Koefman, G Egan, R Smith
Abbey:
Pen: Radford
Yellow cards: Beckly, Knights, Shackleford
Reading:
Tries: Borthwick (2), Dorliac, Smith, Czernuszka
Con: Dorliac (3)
Referee: Z Kinnaird (Hampshire)
