Deal & Bettes 3 vs TWRUFC 3rd XV 50

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Match Report

Deal Betteshanger 2nd XV 3 – 50 Thanet Wanderers 3rd XV

Doody and Leach may sound like a medieval sexual health clinic, but on Saturday the only thing that wilted was Deal’s resistance as Leon and Harrison’s half-back pairing orchestrated the best all-round team performance produced by the thirds this season.

Having been on the wrong end of some big defeats at Deal, Thanet were grateful to be able to call on some players returning from work commitments and serious injuries. As well as Leach, and Matt Jacobs, Thanet also welcomed back Jack Startin, making his first appearance after a significant knee injury.

Deal’s gameplan was obvious from the outset, with a giant centre being used as a focal point of their attack. What they were clearly not expecting was a centre partnership of Jake Whittlesea and Tom Stevens who led the defensive effort, consistently stopping their man short of the gain line and forcing several turnovers. Having weathered the early storm, Thanet started to make inroads, with both forwards and backs contributing. Ewen Maclean and Leon Gordon-Jones were showing their elusive running skills while Luke Browning ran straight and hard, demonstrating all the skills of a modern front row forward. Ben Turner’s hard running and clever lines caused the defence problems throughout the game, and following a Leach penalty it was his solo effort that earned Thanet the first try of the afternoon.

In the initial stages, Deal were having some success at the breakdown and one of the key factors in Thanet’s success was how they adapted to this. Andy Bourton was instrumental in leading the changes, and it was he who set the maul which sucked in the defence and created space for Harry Price to crash over to score for the second week in succession. Another repeat try scorer was Patrick Liddle who added the third before half time. By then, Thanet’s pack had established dominance, and with Deal increasingly wary of this, Thanet changed the narrative, moving the ball wide where Liddle touched down with an acrobatic flourish.

A key feature of the second half was how the pack played with structure and discipline, in large part thanks to the leadership of the half backs. Mixing up the attacks held the defenders and created space for the backs to exploit – which they did to the tune of 4 tries in the second period. Leach effectively ended the game as a contest with two, the first of which was set up by smart play at the breakdown by Martin West. His second demonstrated his personal ability, showing strength and determination to break several tackles to score under the posts.

This game provided a clear demonstration that the game is about all 19 players, with Kurt Pearson and Greg Shingles coming on to help maintain the momentum. In addition, Thanet had their own ‘bomb squad’, with enough front row forwards to rotate as the opposition tired. By the end of the of the game James Whowell was well on top of his opposite man and Thanet were even comfortable enough to allow Josh McCulley a few minutes in the back row. There were also pleasing signs for the higher teams with Jack Startin exerting more influence in both attack and defence as his confidence in his knee returned.

Despite earlier missing out on a try because he was outpaced by a forward, Tom Stevens put the game to bed with two tries in quick succession. Earlier in the match Deal had been gifted their only points when Matt Jacobs’ jazz hands were rightly penalised, giving their kicker a second attempt at goal. After Stevens’ first try, he made up for this when Tom Harvey spilled the ensuing kick-off, by collecting the loose ball and cutting through the defence before offloading to Stevens to cap the scoring.

With one final play left, Deal were determined to secure a consolation try but in a final demonstration of their team spirit, Thanet’s collective defence held firm, and the line went unbreeched.

Thanet Wanderers: Luke Browning, Josh McCulley, James Whowell, Tom Harvey, Jack Startin, Andy Bourton, Matt Jacobs, Ben Turner, Leon Doody, Harrison Leach, Patrick Liddle, Jake Whittlesea, Tom Stevens, Leon Gordon-Jones, Ewen Maclean, Harry Price, Greg Shingles, Kurt Pearson, Martin West.

Tries:

Conversions:

Penalties: None

Drop Goals: None