Sidcup grab another win...just!!!

SIDCUP 22 PTS GUERNSEY 21 PTS

by 2 tries and 4 penalty goals to 3 tries and 2 penalty goals at Crescent Farm on Saturday.

It was Sidcup’s first meeting at 1st XV level with Guernsey who have been promoted into London 1 this season. The previous Saturday they were narrowly defeated by Old Elthamians at Foxbury. It seemed a bit harsh that they should have to travel to grounds within half a mile of each other on successive Saturdays. Your Correspondent, ever willing to give the RFU Competitions Sub-Committee helpful advice, wonders if they could have doubled up on fixtures to save travelling by playing Elthamians in the morning and Sidcup in the afternoon. Similar arrangements could apply to Dover and Thanet Wanderers also Portsmouth and Trojans.

Sidcup played the first half down wind and down slope. Once again the pitch was in excellent condition- the state of the surface at Sidcup is only appreciated when some other grounds are visited. Guernsey arrived with the reputation of having a strong pack and this was evident in the early exchanges as they embarked on a series of pick and drives. Sidcup were conceding early penalties at breakdowns and, from one of these, No 8 Nick Barton was successful. The last forward your Correspondent can remember as a serious kicker at Sidcup was Frank Croxford around 20 years ago.

Within a couple of minutes, Sidcup were level, as Jim Hardy kicked a penalty from forty five yards but the Guernsey pack was still causing problems at the breakdown and at set scrums with Steven Evans and Richard Clarke having to work hard to clear the ball away under pressure. It took twenty five minutes before Sidcup mounted their first period of sustained pressure, Clarke going close from a drive but Evans was dispatched to the bin for a ruck offence and Guernsey returned to the attack. After a series of scrums and pick and drives on the Sidcup line, prop Cameron Craine forced his was over for an unconverted try.

Sidcup were gradually coming to terms with Guernsey’s style. Josh Harrison made a couple of good runs and Colin Cooper and Gareth McRae combined with Harrison in a move that finished in touch close to the line but half-time arrived with no change to the score.

It was clear that Sidcup had to secure more possession and retain the ball for longer playing into the wind in the second half. They began well, remaining in the Guernsey half but final passes were not going to hand. Julian Poff was making life more difficult for the visitors at the breakdown and, in ten minutes, reward came in the form of a Hardy penalty. The lead was short lived. From a line-out on half way, the Sidcup line-out, which until then had been effective, lost a long throw. Guernsey moved the ball left then right and prop Layton Batiste ploughed over although the conversion was again missed. Michael Ubee and Danny Mizen came on for Jamie Cutler and Colin Cooper and immediately Ubee made his presence felt when, from a ruck on the Guernsey twenty two, he spotted a space, chipped ahead and collected his kick to score an excellent individual try. The lead was short lived as Jason Batiste kicked a penalty but Hardy replied with a good kick after Guernsey were penalized at a scrum.

As in previous weeks, Sidcup became more assertive as the game progressed. Mizen’s arrival seemed to give stability to the scrum and the work at the breakdown was bearing fruit. McRae and Callum Thomson were making ground in mid-field and, with a quarter of an hour remaining, scrum pressure led to a penalty which Hardy kicked to restore the lead. This was extended when a move involving several players including Poff and Richard Day led to Sam Carmen committing the full back before giving Mike Elliott a perfectly timed pass allowing the Sidcup captain to touch down.

Almost immediately Sidcup conceded a really poor try. A loose clearance kick was collected by wing forward Jim Regnard around forty yards out and he managed to make a nonsense of the defence by running down the touchline to score. Only one point ahead, Sidcup became edgy. The defence, which until then had been exemplary, began slipping off tackles. A Guernsey attack was forced into touch on the Sidcup line. Guernsey looked certain to score when they manufactured a four to two overlap (with the two being forwards) but a drop goal was attempted which missed. With the referee having called “last play” another Guernsey drive was halted under the posts, and to the relief of the home supporters, Mr Hickman penalized Guernsey for holding on.

Once again, Sidcup made heavy weather of victory and there were a number of similarities with the previous week’s win at Dover. The forwards improved as the game went on and, apart from a spell towards the end, the defence was sound. Both Michael Ubee and Danny Mizen were effective replacements. Newcomers Josh Harrison, Gareth McRae and Julian Poff all had good games and, once again Jim Hardy kicked the goals.

This Saturday Sidcup visit Chichester who have started the league programme like a train and will not allow their opponents to make a slow start. Your Correspondent regrets that he is unable to attend the game. This is entirely due to a one year old grandson’s birthday celebration and emphatically not because he can’t face the abuse in the event of the Master Race losing to England in the morning (as seems highly likely). The grandson is indifferent as to whether he attends the party but the grandson’s parents are most certainly not!