Bournemouth RFC

Season 2008/2009

Bournemouth Lions are sponsored by Wood of Bournemouth, BMW Dealers.

 

Bournemouth Lions v Exmouth

 

The English Clubs Rugby Union Championship – South-West 1

Saturday 15 November 2008, KO 2.30 p.m. at Chapel Gate.

 

Result –Bournemouth 23 (2G, 3P) v 0 Exmouth. Half-time – 16-0

 

Attendance – 200+ approximately.

Referee – Richard James, Hampshire. Assessor – Malcolm Jamieson, Buckinghamshire.

 

Touch Judge – Steve Buffery, Bournemouth.

Bournemouth Team – 15: Simon McFarlane (Domenick Davies 52); 14: ‘Eddy’ Edwards; 13: Tim Gray; 12: Scott Chislett; 11: Mike Pope (2C, 3P); 10: ‘Puks’ Ngapaku; 9: Sam Hardcastle (1T); 1: Tim Wareham (Jo Burns 64); 2: Dan Cawley; 3: Alan Manning; 4: Callum Forrest (1T); 5: Chris Hughes (c); 6: Iain Crombie; 7: Neil Stanton-Ketchley (Michael Richards 52); 8: Matt Kiely.

Debut – Neil Stanton-Ketchley.

Scorers – Tries (2): Callum Forrest (23), Sam Hardcastle (52). Cons (2): Mike Pope 2 (23, 52). Pens (3): Mike Pope 3 (8, 12, 33).

Yellow Card – Dan Cawley 66.

 

Milestones – Alan Manning plays tighthead-prop for the 50th time in The Championship. With his second penalty, Mike Pope passes 100 (109 in total) points in the Championship this season. Callum Forrest scores for the first time in the Championship. In his tenth season playing for the 1st XV, Dan Cawley started his 150th game. Not many, and I should know the number, have done that and in two of those season he only played one match. Remarkable consistency although he has played in six positions and is still the most ‘capped’ Bournemouth inside-centre despite being classed as a forward! He is also the third highest try-scorer in the league.

 

Exmouth Team – 15: Tom Elliott; 14: Adam Garner; 13: Rich Cadywould; 12: Seb Phelps; 11: Jack Downie; 10: Ben Hough (Mark Wathes); 9: Garry Hooper (c); 1: Murray Daniels (John Pinney); 2: Ed Baxter; 3: Shane Cooper; 4: Adam Wyllie; 5: Ashley Stevens (Paul Flower); 6: Andrew Smith; 7: Ben Boswell; 8: Chris Strong.

Yellow Card – Adam Garner 33.

 

Scoring Sequence – 8m: 3-0 Pope pen; 12m: 6-0 Pope pen; 23m: 11-0 Callum try, 13-0 Pope con; 33m: 16-0 Pope pen; Half-time: 16-0; 52m: 21-0 Hardcastle try, 23-0 Pope con; Full Time: 23-0.

 

Before the match there was lunch for some sixty odd former players. The day was perfect for a game of rugby football; mild, overcast and with just the gentlest of westerly breezes. Underfoot there was very little sign of the heavy rain earlier in the week having had a respite for thirty-six hours or so.

Bournemouth won the toss and chose to defend the westerly end and thus Exmouth kicked-off into the breeze.

In what was to prove to be a feature of the game, scrum-half Sam Hardcastle from the kick-off chipped the ball only to find it returned for full-back Simon McFarlane in turn to kick it going right. It was outside-centre Tim Gray’s turn to field the return and he combined with fly-half ‘Puks’ Ngapaku who kicked it long down the right for a chase. Exmouth failed to find touch as the tried to clear to their left and Hardcastle, hard on his right-hand touchline, was on hand to chip it back In following up he wasn’t able to secure the ball and Exmouth had a line-out on their 22-metre line. Bournemouth won the ball back in a maul following the line-out but were penalized fro coming in from the side and fly-half Ben Hough found touch on the Bournemouth 10-metre line underneath the stand. The ball was mauled at the back of the line-out and Exmouth were given the put-in when it was held up. No-8 Chris Strong lived up to his name with a drive off the back of the scrum but undid all his good work by being ‘pinged’ by referee Richard James for ‘holding on’. This gave left-wing Mike Pope his first ‘pop’ at goal but from inside the Exmouth 10-metre line his effort was short and wide of the right-hand post. Exmouth’s clearance was fielded by No-8 Matt Kiely and he combined with blindside-flanker Iain Crombie to take play down the right. Play switched left for Bournemouth to force their way to the Exmouth 22-metre line where they were were penalized for being off-side at the ruck and Pope was given a much easier opportunity than the one two minutes earlier to kick for goal. He duly did from in front of the posts and his side lead 3-0 after eight minutes play. Straight from the kick-off, the ball was fed to right-wing ‘Eddy’ Edwards who chipped the ball through to force an Exmouth line-out ten metres out from their try line. Bournemouth recovered the ball and Gray almost got through with a typical strong run in mid-field. He got some sort of reward when Exmouth were penalized for being off their feet at the ruck and Pope was able to pass the 100 points mark in the league this season with another well struck kick. Bournemouth lead 6-0 after twelve minutes. Lock Callum Forrest did very well to secure the kick-off despite considerable pressure from the chasing Exmouth forwards. Matt Kiely was on hand to get the ball from him for Ngapaku to clear down his right. Debutant openside-flanker Neil Ketchley did what he knows best by chasing down the kick and forcing Exmouth to concede a Bournemouth line-out outside the Exmouth 22-metre line. Bournemouth rather spoilt the effort by failing to find the catcher and it rather lamely landed in Exmouth hands at the back of the line-out. Bournemouth managed to recover the ball and it was immediately swung left in to Pope’s hands where he had some room. He made a great run down his touch well supported by inside-centre Scott Chislett and Gray but a pass back inside was forward and the attack was stopped just ten metres out for an Exmouth scrum. Exmouth kicked right for Pope to be given another run at their defence. He released the ball going right and finally Edwards was swallowed up by Exmouth and they were awarded a scrum. They promptly wheeled it, beyond dare I say an Euclidian 90 degrees, which allowed them to break out into an open field. Taking full advantage they swarmed up field forcing Bournemouth to scramble back in defence. They managed to check the attack midfield outside their 22-metre line but Exmouth retained the ball and pushed it wide to their left. With Bournemouth desperately defending and Exmouth equal desperate to capitalize on their advantage, the visitors were frustrated when they conceded a penalty. Ngapaku gratefully found sanctuary in the left-hand touch on the Bournemouth 10-metre line. Forrest secured the throw-in and when the ball was worked to Chislett, the centre kicked the ball long to outside the Exmouth 22-metre line on the opposite touch. Exmouth cleared to the right with a long kick but this only gave Pope another crack at their defence with another typical exciting run. They were penalized in their efforts to stop him and Ngapaku found touch on the half-way line down the left. Again Forrest secured the ball but, disappointingly, Chislett was unable to hold onto the ball as he burst through the gap set up by Ngapaku. The Exmouth fly-half suffered a cut head in the incident and was forced to retire. Outside-centre Rich Cadywould took over the fly-half duties and Mark Wathes took over at outside-centre. The replacement was to prove quite a handful for the rest of the afternoon. After the restart, the ball was banged back and forth a few times before Pope fielded one of the kicks which enabled him to set off on another exciting run down his wing deep into enemy territory. There on hand was Forrest, as it was worked back inside when the winger was checked, to ‘spot’ the ball wide out on the left. Pope did very well to add to his tally with a well-struck kick and Bournemouth had a very satisfactory 13-0 lead after twenty-three minutes. Exmouth committed the cardinal sin of not kicking beyond the 10-metre line and were forced to concede the put-in at a scrum on the centre spot. Ngapaku was able to get in a long kick for Pope to chase and Bournemouth were able to work it back inside for hooker Dan Cawley to be stopped ten metres short of the line for an Exmouth scrum. Again Pope was given another opportunity to run back the Exmouth clearance but the defenders manage to retrieve the ball. Full-back Simon McFarlane did well to be forced into touch as he was chased down by Exmouth from their kick. Bournemouth won the line-out and were given the put-in at a scrum. Winning it, they went right where tighthead-prop Alan Manning typically punched into the defensive line to release Gray who proved to be much of a handful as he broke down the right-hand touch only to be forced into touch on the Exmouth 22-metre line. Another bout of rather aimless kicking resulted in another Pope run to set up a Bournemouth forward drive lead by captain Chris Hughes and they were rewarded with another penalty as Exmouth tried to stem the tide. Ngapaku found touch on the Exmouth 22-metre line down his left. Again Forrest secured the ball with a well-judged leap to set another Bournemouth three-quarter attack going right with Ngapaku and Gray combining well to create the threat. Again in the efforts to defend, right-wing Adam Garner was guilty of not rolling away after the tackle and was ordered by refereee James to take a ten minute breather. From just right of the post, Pope punished the indiscretion with his third penalty. Frpm the kick-off. Iain Crombie did well to secure the ball under immense pressure from the Exmouth forwards. Exmouth managed to win the ball back eventually and set up a dangerous attack when Wathes recovered a neat chip ahead. Exmouth continued the move going right where Hardcastle completed the rescue with a clearance to the left-hand touch on the Exmouth 10-metre line. From the line-out play went to the Bournemouth right where Bournemouth were penalized prompting referee James to have a chat with the two captains about the failure of both sides going to ground after the tackle. Exmouth found touch on their left outside their own 22-metre line. They failed to throw the ball in straight and from the resultant 15-metre scrum Hardcastle kicked high for Chislett to chase and the centre was very unlucky not to regather the ball cleanly and Exmouth were awarded a scrum. The clearance kick was fielded by McFarlane who fed Edwards who in turn fed Pope out on his left wing. He made another dangerous probe into Exmouth territory but the pass back inside to the supporting Gray didn’t go to hand and referee James blew for half-time.

From the restart, Exmouth went left but across the pitch with scrum-half Garry Hooper proving difficult to hold. Eventually the move was stopped with Bournemouth winning the ball allowing McFarlane to put in a good kick to the right to find touch some thirty metres out. Exmouth drove off the line-out but lost the ball and McFarlane counterd first down his right before the ball was moved left. Kiely, who was always in the mix, chipped the Exmouth defence for Pope to chase only for Bournemouth to be penalized for ‘diving in’ as they tried to rescue the ball. After the earlier warning the referee might have issued a yellow card but refrained from doing so. Exmouth only progressed to their 10-metre line for a Bournemouth throw-in which was badly over thrown enabling Exmouth to attack going left. However, they managed to knock the ball on for a Bournemouth scrum which set up a kick and chase. Full-back Tom Elliott in fielding the high kick felt the full force of a Cawley tackle which left the player on the ground but Hardcastle’s attempt to set up another Bournemouth foray went straight into touch for an Exmouth line-out on the half-way line. From the line-out, Bournemouth pressurized the Exmouth ball carriers as they went left inducing them to drop the ball for a Bournemouth put-in at a scrum on the Exmouth 22-mtere line and in front of the posts. A golden opportunity for a telling Bournemouth attack was lost as, with the Bournemouth scrum struggling to contain the Exmouth shove, the ball was dropped at the back of the scrum. Ironically Bournemouth were penalized for deliberately wheeling the scrum and Exmouth were able to clear to the left-hand touch for a line-out on the Bournemouth 10-metre line. This set up a dangerous Exmouth thrust down the middle but Bournemouth managed to stop the drive and were awarded a scrum. They forced play to just outside the Exmouth 22-metre line and were given another scrum. This time, with Hardcastle standing off to receive the ball, Kiely with a much more stable platform, didn’t fluff his lines and the scrum-half was released to step inside the tackler and break free to score a characteristic try under the posts. Pope completed the job with a conversion from in front of the posts to make the score 23-0 twelve minutes into the half. At this point Ketchley was replaced by Michael Richards and McFarlane by Domenick Davies. Bournemouth drove well from the kick-off and were given the throw-in on the half-way line on the right. Again the ball was badly overthrown to set up another Exmouth attack down the middle. Bournemouth managed to win the ball back and cleared to the right-hand touch for an Exmouth line-out outside the Bournemouth 10-metre line. Exmouth immediately conceded the advantage by not throwing straight enabling Kiely to break off the back of the scrum and punch into the Exmouth line. Chislett on taking the ball into contact dropped it for an Exmouth scrum. They attacked to the right but Bournemouth were, in turn, awarded a scrum on their 22-metre line. Exmouth rebuffed the Bournemouth efforts to break out and countered with a dangerous attack of their own but the Bournemouth defence was up to the task and fprcd the ball into touch. Hardcastle chose to kick from the line-out and Bournemouth were very unlucky not to regather the ball. Chris Hughes required some attention for a few moments but recovered sufficiently to be part of a pack that pushed Exmouth back to set up a Bournemouth drive to the right. Exmouth stopped the drive and were given the put-in at a scrum. A free-kick was awarded against Bournemouth at the put-in and then were promptly penalized for not rolling away at the tackle. Exmouth found touch down their left on the Bournemouth 10-metre line. Bournemouth did well at the line-out to set up a forward drive but Exmouth managed to recover the situation and countered through their three-quarters to the right. Crombie was hurt in trying to stop the attack and while he was down loosehead-prop Tim Wareham was replaced by Jo Burns. Exmouth continued right to be given the throw-in at a line-out. Bournemouth were penalized at the line-out which Hooper took quickly and Bournemouth were penalized again for which Cawley paid the price by spending ten minutes in the ‘sin bin’. This resulted in Tim Wareham coming back on in the front row and Matt Kiely being ‘sacrificed’ to maintain the deficit. Exmouth found touch on the left on the Bournemouth 5-metre line. Bournemouth held the drive for the line forcing Hooper to go wide and stand-in fly-half Rich Cadywould chipped deep into the Bournemouth dead-ball area but Edwards was alert to the situation and won the race to touch the ball down for a 22-metre drop-out. Increasingly Hooper was proving to be difficult to contain as he stroved to get some points on the board but his efforts were nullified when Exmouth players were penalized for ‘diving in’ in their efforts to support him. Exmouth remained a threat through out the remainder of the match but they were not to get a better chance of scoring than when Edwards was forced to touch down. Bournemouth in turn never created any opportunities for either wing to have a run at the visitors although the forwards began to assert themselves in the set-piece scrums when they were back up to full strength as perhaps their opposite numbers began to tire. Nonetheless there was much cut and thrust in the play typified by a run by full-back Elliott as he countered from a long kick by Chislett meaning that Bournemouth had to be on full alert not to concede a score to the visitors.

The general mood afterwards was a “win’s a win” suggesting that Bournemouth might have done better but it simply reminded everyone that, despite their poor ‘on the road’ record so far this season, no side can be underestimated in this division. This was amply demonstrated by the results elsewhere that saw Bournemouth move to a clear third, the highest we have ever achieved in the league. So that can’t be bad! Arguably most remarkable was Bracknell’s failure to cross Old Patesians’s line in their defeat at Lily Hill Park which meant we went above Bracknell. It also reinforces what a good result we got at Everest Road at the end of October considering their form subsequently. Whatever, the old boys enjoyed their lunch and want to come again!