Perfection beckons rugby club if they can win seven more
By by Jim Morgan at Castle Fields on Monday, 15th February 2010.
EASTERN COUNTIES lEAGUE DIVISION TWO: Haverhill 47 Dereham 7, match report.
A crowd of around 100 turned up to watch Haverhill Rugby Club play at home for the first time since December 5, and they were not disappointed by the result.
From the off, it was going to be a tough day for Dereham, as Haverhill demolished their scrum twice in quick succession.
A penalty within two minutes was kicked to ten metres out, and Haverhill's lineout was dominant. Unfortunately the move broke down when the ball was knocked on.
Haverhill again won against the head, and Matt Stephenson, making his first start at flanker, picked up the ball and drove across the line for his first club try on six minutes. The Jake Plumridge kick shaved the upright the wrong side, to keep the score at 5-0.
From the restart, Haverhill infringed, but won the ball back, but were penalised for crossing. This is when a player gets in between the man with the ball and the opposition. It happened six times in the game, and is something Haverhill need to sort out, as better sides will punish this lax play. Running straight and hard, Route A1, will eliminate this.
On 10 minutes, Paul Bergin broke out from the maul and ran 35m to within ten metres of the Dereham line.
With an overlap on the blind side of four men, the next score looked inevitable, but the pass never came and the move broke down.
From the scrum, Haverhill again won against the head and quick ball from Ricky Harris to Mark Jury led to a great opposite angle run from Adam Hunt, who crashed over the line for a converted try on 12 minutes.
From the off, Haverhill come back at Dereham, and a great back line move involving Jury, Joe Brown, Hunt and Plumridge saw Haverhill get to within 15m of the Dereham line, only for the ball to be knocked on when the try looked a certainty.
Dereham had nothing to offer in defence, and a great run from the scrum by Stephenson saw Grant Deeks cross the line, only for the try to be disallowed for a forward pass.
The resulting scrum led to a Dereham penalty, but Haverhill won the line-out and Jury broke through.
Intelligent hands laid the ball off to Carl Anderson just at the right time, and Anderson crossed the line on 30 minutes for a Plumridge-converted try, making the score 19-0.
Again, Haverhill came back at Dereham, and the relentless pressure told, with skipper Ryan Raffell crashing over the line for another Plumridge conversion and 26-0 on 35 minutes.
The resultant restart saw Haverhill knock on the ball, and Dereham enter the Haverhill half for the first time in the match.
Haverhill on the scrum, but were penalised for crossing and Dereham cleared to the Haverhill 22m line. Joe Brown was replaced by Simon Lester on the stroke of half-time due to a knock, and the powerhouse that is Martin Ransome, gathered and cleared the ball for Haverhill to take the half-time whistle.
On 42 minutes, Raffell crossed the Dereham line for a Plumridge-converted try to make the score 33-0.
Haverhill were guilty of many silly infringements and finally, on 44 minutes, the referee went to his pocket and sent the skipper to the bin for coming in at the side and killing the ball in the maul.
With Jury picking up a strain two minutes afterward, Haverhill brought Adrian Cooper into the back line and Plumridge moved up to the fly half position.
Dereham sensed for the first time that they may get something from the change and finally, seven minutes into the sin bin, they crossed the Haverhill line for a converted try making the score 33-7.
Haverhill came back and pushed the Dereham scrum, even with the man down. Brodie Patrick showed what a nice player he is becoming, with some superb tackling to keep Dereham on the back foot.
Raffell arrived back on the field after a 13-minute rest and Haverhill continued to dominate, with Ransome crashing through for another converted try on 55 minutes.
By this stage of the game, Dereham were just trying to stop Haverhill rampaging all over them and succeeded in allowing Haverhill to cross the line only once more, when Anderson scored on 70 minutes for his second try, to make the score 47-7 with the Plumridge conversion.
Coach Andy Price said after the game: "In the first phase game, scrum and line-out, no team in the league will live with us. With that sort of domination we need to clinically put sides away with basic play, rather than trying to be too clever.
"Rugby is a simple game, so when you try to over complicate the play - ie trying too hard - all you do is mess things up.
"Winning is everything, and again we had a good win today. Special thanks to the multitude of supporters who came up and voiced their approval.
"There is still a long way to go, and next week's game against Broadlands at Great Yarmouth will be tough. We have to remain focused on a non-losing season."
A crowd of around 100 turned up to watch Haverhill Rugby Club play at home for the first time since December 5, and they were not disappointed by the result.
From the off, it was going to be a tough day for Dereham, as Haverhill demolished their scrum twice in quick succession.
A penalty within two minutes was kicked to ten metres out, and Haverhill's lineout was dominant. Unfortunately the move broke down when the ball was knocked on.
Haverhill again won against the head, and Matt Stephenson, making his first start at flanker, picked up the ball and drove across the line for his first club try on six minutes. The Jake Plumridge kick shaved the upright the wrong side, to keep the score at 5-0.
From the restart, Haverhill infringed, but won the ball back, but were penalised for crossing. This is when a player gets in between the man with the ball and the opposition. It happened six times in the game, and is something Haverhill need to sort out, as better sides will punish this lax play. Running straight and hard, Route A1, will eliminate this.
On 10 minutes, Paul Bergin broke out from the maul and ran 35m to within ten metres of the Dereham line.
With an overlap on the blind side of four men, the next score looked inevitable, but the pass never came and the move broke down.
From the scrum, Haverhill again won against the head and quick ball from Ricky Harris to Mark Jury led to a great opposite angle run from Adam Hunt, who crashed over the line for a converted try on 12 minutes.
From the off, Haverhill come back at Dereham, and a great back line move involving Jury, Joe Brown, Hunt and Plumridge saw Haverhill get to within 15m of the Dereham line, only for the ball to be knocked on when the try looked a certainty.
Dereham had nothing to offer in defence, and a great run from the scrum by Stephenson saw Grant Deeks cross the line, only for the try to be disallowed for a forward pass.
The resulting scrum led to a Dereham penalty, but Haverhill won the line-out and Jury broke through.
Intelligent hands laid the ball off to Carl Anderson just at the right time, and Anderson crossed the line on 30 minutes for a Plumridge-converted try, making the score 19-0.
Again, Haverhill came back at Dereham, and the relentless pressure told, with skipper Ryan Raffell crashing over the line for another Plumridge conversion and 26-0 on 35 minutes.
The resultant restart saw Haverhill knock on the ball, and Dereham enter the Haverhill half for the first time in the match.
Haverhill on the scrum, but were penalised for crossing and Dereham cleared to the Haverhill 22m line. Joe Brown was replaced by Simon Lester on the stroke of half-time due to a knock, and the powerhouse that is Martin Ransome, gathered and cleared the ball for Haverhill to take the half-time whistle.
On 42 minutes, Raffell crossed the Dereham line for a Plumridge-converted try to make the score 33-0.
Haverhill were guilty of many silly infringements and finally, on 44 minutes, the referee went to his pocket and sent the skipper to the bin for coming in at the side and killing the ball in the maul.
With Jury picking up a strain two minutes afterward, Haverhill brought Adrian Cooper into the back line and Plumridge moved up to the fly half position.
Dereham sensed for the first time that they may get something from the change and finally, seven minutes into the sin bin, they crossed the Haverhill line for a converted try making the score 33-7.
Haverhill came back and pushed the Dereham scrum, even with the man down. Brodie Patrick showed what a nice player he is becoming, with some superb tackling to keep Dereham on the back foot.
Raffell arrived back on the field after a 13-minute rest and Haverhill continued to dominate, with Ransome crashing through for another converted try on 55 minutes.
By this stage of the game, Dereham were just trying to stop Haverhill rampaging all over them and succeeded in allowing Haverhill to cross the line only once more, when Anderson scored on 70 minutes for his second try, to make the score 47-7 with the Plumridge conversion.
Coach Andy Price said after the game: "In the first phase game, scrum and line-out, no team in the league will live with us. With that sort of domination we need to clinically put sides away with basic play, rather than trying to be too clever.
"Rugby is a simple game, so when you try to over complicate the play - ie trying too hard - all you do is mess things up.
"Winning is everything, and again we had a good win today. Special thanks to the multitude of supporters who came up and voiced their approval.
"There is still a long way to go, and next week's game against Broadlands at Great Yarmouth will be tough. We have to remain focused on a non-losing season."
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