Match Report for 1st Team

Saturday 6 February 2010
Esher 47 vs Wharfedale 12

No Freeze this time as Esher are still hot

By Simon Clemmey

On a cold but bright February afternoon Esher extended their unbeaten run to 9 games against a determined Wharfedale side.

Esher started the match and retained possession immediately; making good yards with crisp interlink play through their centre’s before passing the ball out wide to Sam Ulph who cut inside and was tackled on mass by the Wharfedale defence. Esher’s forwards cleared out at the ruck and the ball was moved quickly across the backline. Neil Hallett joined the line at pace and was forced into touch just millimetres short of the try line. The resulting line out was lost by Wharfedale, Esher’s forwards rumbled the ball towards the try line but they were unable to force their way over. Garrick Cowley at scrum half decided to pass the ball out to the backs, where Seb Jewell dummied a pass and cut inside passing two Wharfedale defenders and coasted in for the first try of the match. The conversion was duly made by Sam Ulph. Esher 7 points up with 4 minutes played.

From the restart Esher’s forwards continued to break the gain line and they were hitting the rucks with force, winning their personal battles. This was evident when Wharfedale lost their scrum on their own 22. The Esher pack put in a huge shove and won the ball with ease. Wharfedale were struggling to cope with Esher’s intensity and numerous penalties occurred at the breakdown. Esher’s mindset was clear; secure the bonus point this half as they kicked for the corner on a number of occasions. From one of the lineouts Esher scored their second try. It was a result of forward dominance as the lineout was won from the back and after a couple of pod drives, Esher’s number 8 Shawn Renwick rumbled over from a yard out to score his first of the game. Sam Ulph converted the try and Esher led 14-0 with no more than 10 minutes played.

Straight from the restart Esher scored their third try of the game, Wharfedale originally retained the ball but lost it in broken play. Shawn Renwick picked up then passed to Dave Slemen who passed out wide to Sam Ulph who galloped home from halfway. He also converted his own try to stretch Esher’s lead to 21 points with 15 minutes gone.

Esher’s third try woke Wharfedale up and they began to put a few phases together, hitting the rucks and gaining some good quick ball. Although they weren’t gaining many yards,  Wharfedale’s flyhalf placed a speculative cross field kick from the centre of the pitch. The bounce of the ball was kind for their pacey winger who beat two Esher players before being tackled in the 22. The ball was retained by Wharfedale, and again with a cross field kick, Wharfedale scored their first try. Simon Horsfall collected the kick and ran in unopposed from 5 yards out. The conversion by David Hall was made and with 18 minutes gone the score was Esher 21-7 Wharfedale.

During the next 10 minutes Esher continued to push for the bonus point try and refused to take the easier option of 3 points often opting for the 5 metre lineout. They continued to throw to the back of the lineout, which was bringing them a lot of success. From a couple of minutes of sustained pressure, Esher from an attacking scrum scored the all important fourth try. The ball was shipped out from the back of the scrum, and from 10 metres out David Slemen placed a cheeky grubber kick through and Sam Ulph helped himself to his second try of the match by dotting down in the corner. He converted his try and the score was Esher 28-7 Wharfedale with 34 minutes gone. Sam Ulph so far with a personal tally of 18 points.

Within 2 minutes of the restart Wharfedale scored their second try of the match. After some scrappy play, in the middle of the park, Wharfedale’s Ian Dixon playing at fullback broke through a tackle and grubber kicked the ball on, it ran all the way into the tryline area, he beat Sam Ulph for pace and placed the ball down in the corner. However the conversion was missed and the score remained at 28-12 at half time.

Wharfedale started the second half, Esher retained possession with the forwards making hard yards, and with great work at the breakdown they were able to give the backs plenty of ball to run with. Although scrappy in places Esher were still dominant. Wharfedale certainly started the second half better than the first. They enjoyed some good possession and they appeared to want to play the game through the forwards with a dog ball mentality. After a mazy run by Jonny Hylton for Esher, the Wharfedale defence came under a huge amount of pressure especially from the Esher pack at lineouts and scrums. A scrum 5 metres out Esher pushed the Wharfedale pack to the tryline, Shawn Renwick dived for the line but was just short, then seeing the chance was still there Garrick Cowley, picked the ball up and dived over for Esher’s fifth try of the match, the conversion was made by Sam Ulph and Esher were 35-12 up with 12 minutes gone in the second half.

Esher continued to play an expansive game after the restart, the Wharfedale were being dragged all over the pitch, and they were beginning to give penalties away. Esher were more than happy to place the ball in Seb Jewell’s hands and he continued to find touch were the Esher lineout enjoyed a lot of success. The forwards continued to drive from the lineout and rumbled the ball forward 10-15 yards at a time.
From a ruck near the Wharfedale 22 Esher put together a passage of play that resulted in their sixth try of the game. From the base of the ruck Esher’s Ian Barnes passed out to Shawn Renwick who at pace burst through the Wharfedale line and ran in for his second try of the match. Unbelievably Sam Ulph missed the conversion. His first missed kick in 36 attempts dating back to the 5th December against Nuneaton. The score was now Esher 40-12 Wharfedale. Deservedly Sam Ulph received a warm round of applause from the appreciative home crowd for his incredible record.

The Wharfedale defence was now being broken frequently, another try was on the cards as Shawn Renwick and Lee Starling continued to make good hard yards the middle of the park. After a Lee Starling break, the ball was recycled through to David Slemen who passed out wide to Simon Gaynor who broke through a tackle and pass to Shawn Renwick who scored ran over for his third try of the match. The try was converted by Sam Ulph. Score Esher 47-12 Wharfedale with 6 minutes remaining in the match.

Full Time, Esher 47-12 Wharfedale.

The view from the stands was that “Esher played a good attacking game, and were always throwing the ball out wide, displaying exciting rugby. They were prone to making a mistake, but they were certainly stronger in attack then in defence and a breakaway try was always a possibility!”

Esher: Hallett – Ulph – Taylor – Jewell  (Baumberg)– Hylton – Slemen – Cowley (Barnes) – Tunnicliff – Corrigan (Campbell) – Warren (Millard) – Turner – Anderson – Starling – Stitcher (Gaynor) – Renwick