EDF Junior Vase – Round 5
Doncaster Phoenix 15 Thornesians 0
This weekend Doncaster Phoenix entertained Thorne in the next round of the EDF Cup. It is the second time Phoenix have entertained Thorne at Castle Park this season and after a victory last time, to retake the Greenslade Cup, we were certainly not going to give it back in a hurry.
Changes to the side this week included the return of Taylor in the back row for Smit and Ceri Thomas in for Byrne. Two short term absentees, Atkinson (back injury) and Tim Elliot (holiday) meant a bit of a shuffle, with second row Oliver moving to hooker, Germain moved to the second row and Oakley started at eight, and Jazz started at ten with Jonny Stuart coming in a full back.
The game started with a lot of pressure by Thorne, they were strong in the loose and were managing to steal both scrums and lineouts. Thorne had clearly come to Phoenix Park to win. After good defence for the first ten minutes, Phoenix managed to get hold of the ball and with some good kicks by Jazz at ten, Phoenix got out of their own half. It was now that Phoenix started to punch through some gaps in the Thorne defence, Treacle making some good yards off the scrum and Miller with a couple of darts. After a period of sustained pressure Phoenix found themselves five yards out and it was time for the signature move, the ‘Stone Cold Stunner’, the ‘RKO’, the ‘Tombstone’, the ‘Fat Boy Flop’. Morris ran onto an inside ball from Miller to crash over from a yard or two. Again!
To be honest Thorne was a bit stunned to have conceded, they had been on top and it was our first real attack. But they regrouped, and for the rest of the first half put a lot of pressure on Phoenix, but our defence was up to it. Some fine tackling by Lowcock and Thomas in the centres and the pack worked as a unit to protect the fringes. The only time Phoenix threatened again in the first half was when a good steal by Miller and offload put the speedy Taylor through. Now, every person on the pitch and everyone on the sidelines, and the millions watching on pay-per-view, thought he is in, it’s a try. It wasn’t! In a post match interview, Taylor explained why he kicked the ball straight into touch when no one opposed him.
“Well, I knew that I had avoided the good chaps in the Thorne defensive line and that the jolly fellow at fullback would not be able to catch me. But then my body started to do things on its own, it was gearing itself for a rather delightful chip into the corner. Except, in my long repertoire of skills and abilities, a delightful chip is not in there. What is in there, sandwiched between, roof demolition and jeep rebuilding is big hoof kicking, which is what I did. I must say, that as the ball was leaving my hands I was screaming at them to Hold on! Don’t do it! But it was too late. Sorry.”
The first half finished 5-0.
During the half time break, Coach Senior pointed out that although our defence was strong, we could not risk only being five points in front and then possibly conceding a late try. We needed to score first in the second half to stop any kind Thorne comeback.
Straight from the kick off Phoenix attacked hard and really battered the Thorne defence with some good picks from the base of rucks and some strong running in the backs. But Thorne held firm, they broke down our attempts at rolling mauls and they rucked hard all game. It wasn’t until Oakley picked from the base of the scrum and scythed through the Thorne defence did we look like scoring. Unfortunately, Oakley could not quite get the pass away for a certain try, but a few minutes later Phoenix had scored. A strong run by Lowcock and some forward drives sucked in the Thorne defence allowing the vegetable lover Ceri Thomas to fire a perfect pass to the galloping Burton who then proceeded to slide in from ten yards while saluting his idol AH. A very well worked try and a true wingers finish.
Almost immediately after, Phoenix found themselves in the Thorne twenty-two again, the forwards being dominant during this period of the game. With the line beckoning it was substitute prop Prince Alani Kaihau who picked and drove his 22 stone muscle bound frame over the line from a couple of yards, in what is certainly the fastest try ever scored by a substitute in the game of rugby. Or this is what Al told us later in the bar while eating his third curry and chips and still wearing full kit.
The rest of the game was played out at with both sides struggling to hold onto possession for long periods. Phoenix got into the Thorne twenty-two only to lose the ball and allow Thorne to clear their lines. The game ended 15-0 to Phoenix allowing them to retain the Greenslade Cup and get a double over Thorne before Christmas.
In summary of the game, it would be fair to say that it was probably not the best game of rugby to watch, but it was played at a good pace and was very physical at times. Thorne won a lot of the first phase ball, stealing lineouts and driving Phoenix off their ball in the scrum. Unfortunately for Thorne they could not get through the Phoenix defence and in the end Phoenix wore Thorne down to get their scores. A well fought after victory that keeps the Twickenham hopes alive!
The seconds travelled the long yards to Thorne and came away 20-13 victors in another hard fought derby game avenging the seasons early defeat. |
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