Saxon Safety sponsored Andover continued their recent winning ways at the Goodship ground last Saturday, despite a real arm wrestle against old rivals Gosport.

In a game played in gloomy damp conditions, it was a testament to both sides that so many tries were scored and so much running rugby played, but in the end Andover had just too much fire power to deny he visitors even a bonus point.

For long periods it did not seem that way however and Andover had the man of the match performance from the ever green Alex Kane to thank for giving them the edge.

Kane was outstanding throughout and when he opened the scoring with an eighty meter dash in the first few minutes, converted by Rich Retallick, Andover seemed to be in control.

Gosport were having none of it however and as a much-changed Andover struggled to organise themselves, they carved out two scores of their own to take a first quarter lead. 

Stung into action Kane was soon at it again. After some good defence from the impressive Bryn Waite and skipper CJ Feirn, Kane again broke from distance, this time however he was caught close to the line, but Waite had tracked him superbly to take a scoring pass himself.

Back in front Andover started to settle and began to keep the ball better and go through phases. 

The returning Demesi brothers, Issac on the wing and Jacob at hooker, both looked sharp and Conor Green, James Reeder and Jake Dixon all  carried hard.

Andover gained good field position and from one of these sets Tom Erskine smashed through and used his big frame to stretch for the line. Retallick added the extras and Andover seemed to be away.

Once again though the visitors had other ideas as their stand off in particular caused Andover all sorts of problems. He’d already created two tries so unsurprisingly, when Andover gave him the freedom of the town, he danced through several tackles to race away.  

Retallick increased the Andover lead with a penalty soon after and when a fine handling move involving Stan North and Feirn put Max Graham in to score, it seemed they were edging away.

Just before the break however Gosport struck again, this time though with Andover being very aggrieved, as a blatant obstruction of a tackler was not seen.

Playing up the slope in the second half Andover again started well and from another Kane break, good work from Kieron Bush led to Erskine putting prop Wayne Jones in for a lovely score.

Ten point lead restored and bonus point secure, Andover must have felt comfortable, but again Gosport refused to roll over scoring perhaps their best try of the game to claw it back once more.

Andover did still look the most likely however and in the end it was that man Kane again that did the damage.

He’d noticed from a previous scrum that there was a gap on the blind side as Gosport wheeled and when they offered it again, he needed no second bidding to race the length of the pitch once more to give Retallick the easy task of converting.

Gosport kept trying, but Andover had finally learned not to switch off and a good final defensive set in the last ten minutes saw them home.  

After the game Director of Rugby Andy Waite said ‘I don’t think anyone expected a game of eleven tries in these conditions, so it was entertaining if nothing else. We had a lot of changes today, but the lads who stepped in gave everything and in the end that counted. It wasn’t always pretty, but you cannot fault this group of players for their desire and in the end we take five points and go again.’

Saxon Safety sponsored Andover produced their best performance of the season so far, to come away from league leaders Bognor with a convincing victory.

Indeed the home side were unbeaten at home for over a year and had defeated the ‘All Blacks’ in their own back yard in October, but there was to be no repeat of that as Andover dominated from the off.

In their first game since the Christmas break, Andover could have been forgiven for being a bit ring rusty, but instead the rest seemed to have rejuvenated them, and with the return of the excellent Rich Retallick at fly half and Stan North at centre,  Andover had both control and a real threat in midfield that Bogor couldn’t match.

Andover also welcomed back Harry Scobie on the wing after two years in Australia to add even more power to the already impressive back three options Andover have.

Andover began well with a solid scrum and powerful running from Nic Reed, Tom Erskine and James Reeder set the tone for the afternoon.

Bognor did take the lead with a penalty after ten minutes, but they were already struggling with the pace and power of Andover.

Promising young winger Joey Yates was forced off with an early injury, to be replaced by Ben Black who had a very solid game on his debut.

With the returning Callum Barber Starkey now finding his range at lineout time, Andover poured forwards and from a quick tap penalty, North stormed over with Retallick adding the extras.

Andover looked in complete control and despite losing flanker Louis Shinton to injury, they dominated possession. Then came a moment of magic that sent Andover away. 

Retallick kicked a penalty to touch for a lineout, but Bryn Waite got there quickly, and as man of the match Kieran Bush sprinted up the middle, screaming for the ball, Waite produced a long miss pass from the quick lineout, setting Bush away for a fine score. 

Retallick was wide with the conversion but made amends with a penalty Just before the break, awarded after Andover missed a golden chance for a third try.

Andover went into the second half in confident mood. Callum Hollinshead was nullifying the threat of the home back row and with North and skipper CJ Feirn closing the middle Bognor lost their way.

From a series of penalties Andover gained field position and this time did go for the catch and drive, impressively finished by Jake Dixon. 

Retallick was again wide with the conversion but again soon made amends with a fine penalty strike.

Bognor are not top for nothing however and the expected counter attack had Andover in trouble for a period. Sean Higgins marshalled his team well however and a combination of some good game management from Feirn and a stunning try saving tackle from Scobie, kept the home side to just one try in reply.

In the last fifteen minutes it was all Andover. Winning a string of penalties Andover closed up shop and played for territory. Retallick added two more penalties to put the game out of sight as Andover sensibly chose to take the win rather than try for the try bonus point.

After the game Director Rugby Andy Waite said ‘As a coaching group we are very proud of what these lads achieved today. We asked them to go back to the system we’ve worked so hard on and they were very disciplined in doing that. It’s a sign of a maturing side that they managed and closed out the game in the way they did.’

Images Courtesy of Martin Denyer.

Saxon Safety sponsored Andover continued their recent winning ways at the Goodship ground last Saturday, despite a real arm wrestle against old rivals Gosport.

In a game played in gloomy damp conditions, it was a testament to both sides that so many tries were scored and so much running rugby played, but in the end Andover had just too much fire power to deny he visitors even a bonus point.

For long periods it did not seem that way however and Andover had the man of the match performance from the ever green Alex Kane to thank for giving them the edge.

Kane was outstanding throughout and when he opened the scoring with an eighty meter dash in the first few minutes, converted by Rich Retallick, Andover seemed to be in control.

Gosport were having none of it however and as a much-changed Andover struggled to organise themselves, they carved out two scores of their own to take a first quarter lead. 

Stung into action Kane was soon at it again. After some good defence from the impressive Bryn Waite and skipper CJ Feirn, Kane again broke from distance, this time however he was caught close to the line, but Waite had tracked him superbly to take a scoring pass himself.

Back in front Andover started to settle and began to keep the ball better and go through phases. 

The returning Demesi brothers, Issac on the wing and Jacob at hooker, both looked sharp and Conor Green, James Reeder and Jake Dixon all  carried hard.

Andover gained good field position and from one of these sets Tom Erskine smashed through and used his big frame to stretch for the line. Retallick added the extras and Andover seemed to be away.

Once again though the visitors had other ideas as their stand off in particular caused Andover all sorts of problems. He’d already created two tries so unsurprisingly, when Andover gave him the freedom of the town, he danced through several tackles to race away.  

Retallick increased the Andover lead with a penalty soon after and when a fine handling move involving Stan North and Feirn put Max Graham in to score, it seemed they were edging away.

Just before the break however Gosport struck again, this time though with Andover being very aggrieved, as a blatant obstruction of a tackler was not seen.

Playing up the slope in the second half Andover again started well and from another Kane break, good work from Kieron Bush led to Erskine putting prop Wayne Jones in for a lovely score.

Ten point lead restored and bonus point secure, Andover must have felt comfortable, but again Gosport refused to roll over scoring perhaps their best try of the game to claw it back once more.

Andover did still look the most likely however and in the end it was that man Kane again that did the damage.

He’d noticed from a previous scrum that there was a gap on the blind side as Gosport wheeled and when they offered it again, he needed no second bidding to race the length of the pitch once more to give Retallick the easy task of converting.

Gosport kept trying, but Andover had finally learned not to switch off and a good final defensive set in the last ten minutes saw them home.  

After the game Director of Rugby Andy Waite said ‘I don’t think anyone expected a game of eleven tries in these conditions, so it was entertaining if nothing else. We had a lot of changes today, but the lads who stepped in gave everything and in the end that counted. It wasn’t always pretty, but you cannot fault this group of players for their desire and in the end we take five points and go again.’