Pryce and Rushworth slice Pompey apart
21 Mar 10 Portsmouth Colts 14 v 41 Petersfield Colts (League)
Petersfield Colts took on Portsmouth at Hilsea with many of their stars missing through injury, but welcomed back Tommy Bissett for his first game since Christmas.
The first 10 minutes didn’t bode well for the visitors and their unbeaten league record with Pompey’s bigger pack shoving ‘Field back in the scrum, and with their locks a good half foot taller they also dominating the early line-outs. ‘Field were also giving away needless penalties for off-side, and the home side dominated the first quarter opening the scoring when their fly half looped round then cut through to touch down in the corner. A superb conversion from the side-line gave the home side a deserved 7-0 lead.
However rugby is not just about size, and ‘Field then showed that skill and speed can make up a lack of poundage and height. Full back Jonny Pryce and centre Miles Rushworth showed that with good running lines and with well timed passes any defence could be cut open, and both had superb games, making break after break. Pryce started the come-back when one such break, supported by right wing Peter Hodgson, took the ball deep into Portsmouth’s half, the final pass giving left wing Ollie Stoodley the space to outstrip the defence and score in the corner. Soon after it was Rushworth’s turn to score, this time scrum half Alfie Jameson making the scoring pass, and then Pryce after another weaving run rounded off with an outrageous dummy, sliced through to score under the posts to take the score to 7-17.
The forwards were now holding Pompey in the scrum, and with locks Michael Whelan & George Cook now stealing line-out ball it looked like ‘Field should run away with the game. However a lapse in concentration, when a high clearance kick from inside the home 22 was allowed to bounce, gave Pompey the chance to recover the ball, and with ‘Field’s defence in disarray, they ran through to score under the posts to bring the score back to a 3 point difference.
This set-back did not deter the visitors. Led by the back row of Aaron Davies, Tommy Bissett and Alex Pantry the forwards made telling inroads into the heart of Pompey’s defence, then prop Tom Belcher joined in a backs move, and his perfectly timed pass to Stoodley got the wing past his opposite number and with a trade mark hand-off on the covering full back Stoodley scored in the corner to close the half 14-22 to the good.
Portsmouth raised their game in the second half, and had most of the possession and territory in the third quarter. However ‘Fields defence remained firm, and although Pompey came close with a couple of driving mauls, ‘Field were able to turn over the ball and clear. One superb clearance from Pryce from his own try line sent the ball into Pompey’s half, and with Cook disrupting the resulting line-out, the ball come out untidily and Jameson nipped in to intercept and run in a try from 40 metres.
The home side were not deterred and battled back, but still could not break ‘Field’s defence. With just 5 minutes to go, and the result now secure with Pompey 3 scores behind, Rushworth & Pryce had a final flourish. First Bissett broke out of the 22 and gave the ball to Rushworth who cut inside and sprinted through to the half way line, drew the full back before giving the ball to Hodgson who sprinted through to score under the posts. Then Pryce broke through again from inside his own half, and with the full back to beat, this time chipped over and re-gathered to round off a superb individual performance.