SAINTS ACADEMY 26

Friendly

Dinnington RFC

Saturday, October 29, 2005

The game turned on the hour when, with a Rotherham tapped penalty having generated an overlap in the Saints 22, winger Peter Clarke snatched the final pass and raced 95 metres to score.

It was a 'ten-pointer' of a try and allowed the Saints youngsters to regain the initiative that they had grasped to great effect in the opening 10 minutes. Ben Patston and 21 year-old trialist Garth Fowler both crossed for tries in this period - both converted by Patston - for a 14-nil lead that had Rotherham rocked back on their heels.

It was to their credit, therefore, that Rotherham managed to wrest control back from their visitors, thanks to their forwards. A pushover scrum gave Titan number eight Richard Sawyer a try, and a powerful catch and drive set centre Will Kirkley up for a second. Charlie Spon-Smith converted the latter for a 12-14 halftime score.

The home pack wreaked havoc once more four minutes after the break, winning a scrum against the head that gave scrumhalf Michael Kirkwood the opportunity to take the lead. Spon-Smith again converted and Rotherham's pack continued to dominate.

A clinching score looked increasingly likely, only for Clarke's timely interception that levelled the scores at 19-all. The impetus now with the visitors, Will Harries danced his way over and Paul Diggin banished some demons by converting the try for a seven-point advantage.

This time the lead wasn't relinquished, despite Ben Wade's 68th minute try, although the visitors did breath a sigh of relief when Gareth Brear's attempted drop-goal sailed wide.

Clarke, of Framlingham College, was one of several members of the junior academy given a chance to shine in the second half, along with Tom Cleary of Stowe School and Beyerf Visagie, Gareth Hoadley and Ollie Crosby, all from St Joseph's, Ipswich.

Academy director James Sinclair recognised the crucial impact the youngsters had.

"Peter Clarke's try came at exactly the right time," he said. "The young boys came in and did extremely well, and the senior academy guys stuck to their job and looked after them.

"To be fair to the youngsters it can be quite difficult to come into a side that knows each other but they responded really well. They're here because they're good enough and have shown the right qualities."

Teams:
Rotherham U21 - Brear; Morley, Richard, Kirkley, Wooton; Spon-Smith, Kirkwood; Walsh, Hopcroft, Kilbane, Pike, Walton, Maslanyk, Earp, Sawyer.
Replacements (all used) - Larby, Rice, Wilson, Burnham, Bolton, Barrett, Wade.

Saints Academy - Fowler; Harries, Diggin, Barnard, Elliott; Patston, Bishop; Heliasmenos, Wernham, Beech, Pitfield, Rae, Kelly, Supple, Hopley (capt).
Replacements (all used) - Visage, Hoadley, Cleary, Falvey, Clarke, Crosby.

Scorers:
Rotherham U21 - Tries: Sawyer, Kirkley, Kirkwood, Wade; Cons: Spon-Smith (2).

Saints Academy - Tries: Patston, Fowler, Clarke, Harries; Cons: Patston (2), Diggin.