Last play try wins game for Park
Rosslyn Park IVs 25 – 22 Millfield OBs
Rosslyn Park IVs - sponsored by El Patron and the Queen Adelaide
http://elpatronlondon.com/
http://www.thequeenadelaide.co.uk/
As painful as it is to draw comparisons, the Welsh comeback on Saturday night was reminiscent of the
IVs’ never say die attitude against Millfield OBs. Ten minutes left, 9 points down and 14 players on
the pitch having had a player sin-binned. However there was a strong belief that the match was still
there for the taking and that belief turned out to be right. This was a tough match against a strong
Millfield team – indeed they had racked up over 50 points in the previous week against Northolt – and
we fully expect them to be challenging towards the end of the season. However this was our first
league game of the season as the defending champions and on our home pitch – we intended to send
out our own marker to the rest of the league.
It was Millfield who started the game the stronger and the IVs’ early season rustiness was evident. A
penalty and a try for them put them into a comfortable 10-0 lead. It was Hynesy who then brought
us level. His ever-deceptive running saw him ghost through the Millfield defence and place the ball
under the sticks.
His conversion followed by a penalty put us back on track and, despite the
aforementioned rustiness, we still managed to go into half time on level terms.
The second half certainly saw some improvement from IVs and the battle became much more evenly
matched. But it was Millfield who struck first as some early season missed tackles saw them break
through the middle and then ship the ball to the wing. The missed conversion meant they were 1510 up. Some questionable decisions by the referee with respect to the breakdown area, including the
ten minutes’ rest that he ordered to Rich Stewart to take, led to the next points which were
unfortunately for Millfield, who scored and then converted to put them 22-13 up. With 14 on the
pitch and ten minutes left, things were not looking good for the IVs.
But the IVs were not going to give up as easily as the dropped heads might have suggested. And it
was Rixy, moved from wing to scrum half, who grabbed the IVs by the neck. His darting runs off the
base of scrums and penalties, after repeated infringements by Millfield, put Millfield on the back foot
and the IVs steadily moved their way into the Millfield red zone. And it was the Captain who led the
way, with Kouj slicing through the Millfield defence to bring the scores to 22-18. With five minutes
left, the IVs found themselves a try away from victory. Given the success experienced in the previous
5 minutes, more of the same followed as the IVs steadily worked their way up the field. Millfield’s
repeated infringements were finally punished by the referee who sin-binned one of their players and,
with Rich Stewart now back on the pitch, the advantage was with the IVs. Relentless pressure
eventually paid off with the last play of the game as Jon Blackburn powered over the line to make it
23-22 to the IVs. It was left to Hynesy to kick over the simple conversion and secure a vital bonus
point winning victory over Millfield and mark the IVs’ return to the league.
Rixy’s performance saw him take the Man of the Match award although special mention must also go
to Chi who was a thorn in the Millfield game all day. We also welcomed Will, James and Andrew who
made their debuts on the pitch and then off it with a “welcome” messy pint.
Contributed by "Adult"