An unseasonably bright, yet chilly day greeted Andover II down at Hilsea where we were to play our last competitive match of 2024. Portsmouth II were competitive when they came to the Goodship ground in September, having pushed us close and taking a losing BP – their league position was not a fair indication of how they’d been performing and they were coming in to this game on the back of a good win. We knew we’d be in for a challenge against a youthful and sharp team wanting to carry the momentum. Andover had some catching up to do, having had a less satisfying week of match preparation.
The first quarter of the match was an even affair. Andover carried hard, kept the ball secure and strung together good phase play. Credit to Portsmouth, they were able to stifle our progress up the pitch with some strong and well organised defence. The deadlock was eventually broken after 20 minutes – scrum-half James Wallace putting the boot to a loose ball, following an effective kick chase, pounced in the right-hand side of the try-scoring area to finish. Unconverted, the score was 0-5.
Another try for Andover II quickly followed. A line break by Alex Arter who linked up beautifully with James Wallace supporting on his shoulder, beat Portsmouth’s cover defence with a slick final pass to winger Lennon Coffin – deservedly dotting down to compliment a strong individual performance of destructive defence, arcing runs and powerful hand-offs. Unconverted to take the score to 0-10.
Andover’s strong carrying would tell again – a number of phases together eventually drew in enough Portsmouth defenders for us to affect another line break in the wide channels to put us back in Portsmouth’s red zone. The subsequent phase play and trust in executing our attacking structure eventually saw James Reeder muscle over from close range to score our 3rd try of the game. Another missed conversion took the score to 0-15.
It was at this moment, 5 minutes before half-time where Portsmouth II started to turn the momentum of the game. They had a very strong set piece and made ground with a well-coached rolling maul. With quick ball recycling, the pressure eventually told when, Portsmouth II broke through our centre channel, exploiting missed tackles and scored under the posts. Half time score was 7-15.
The second half started as the first half had finished – Portsmouth applying relentless pressure, taking momentum from their score at the final play of the first half. Early in the half, they broke through yet more tackles and exploited a weak and disconnected line speed – something that had until this point been Andover IIs strength this season. More missed tackles led to a second score for Portsmouth II. Another successful conversion took the score to 14-15. A fifteen-point lead reduced to 1.
The game could have gone either way from now. Our Captain, Tommy Gentleman issued a rallying cry under the posts. If we weren’t to let this slip, we needed to take responsibility and turn it around now. And huge credit to every player – they rose to the challenge. It was moments of brilliance that stunted Portsmouth's momentum and turned the story of the game:
Exceptional work rate from young flanker Matty Gaits.
Dominant tackles from Kieron Bush.
Injections of sheer pace from replacement winger Connor Churchill.
Textbook jackals from MotM Scott Kay.
Charlie Deavall – a player with arguably the best power:weight ratio in the league, shunting Portsmouth’s big runners into touch.
Relentless carrying, led by James Reeder, Toby Dixon and VC Alex Arter.
Andover were eventually awarded a kickable penalty in the Portsmouth half. Duly slotted by Tommy Gentleman, it took the score to a slightly more comfortable 14-18. Portsmouth, still very much in the game, pummeled hard at Andover’s defensive line. But by this point, we had shored up our defence, aided by the industrious Billy Pollard with another cameo from retirement, securing several turnovers.
Another period of consistent phase play and slick ball handling led James Reeder crashing over for his 2nd try of the day. This time converted by Tommy and taking the score to 14-25.
The game and indeed the final play of rugby for 2024 was capped off following another string of phases where we executed our newly introduced attacking structure beautifully. Effective pod work, communication between support runners, well-held depth and running lines saw the ball go through several hands and ending up with Scott Kay who placed the ball down for a well-deserved try. Converted by Tommy Gentleman. The game ended 14-32. We go into the Christmas Break with 9 wins from 9.
In the new year, we welcome Southampton to the Goodship Ground. We keep on seeking improvement with every game but credit must be given to players who had the opportunity today after working hard at their individual development in training. They stepped up and were a credit to themselves. The strength in depth being developed is something to be proud of and we hope to carry that further in the new year.
Man of the Match (selected by Andover) – Scott Kay
Man of the Match (selected by Portsmouth) – James Reeder
