Moortown Vs Doncaster Phoenix
Phoenix had a mixed Christmas period losing to high flyers Hullensians in the league but also beat Redcar in the cup who currently play in Yorkshire One, two leagues above. It would now seem that promotion is out of reach this season after a disappointing loss away at Moortown.
The side that went to Moortown was very unorthodox, with many players out of position. Prop Fielding started at hooker, open side Taylor moved to the blind side, blind side Morris moved to eight and with Guns Douglas arriving late, it meant another one a season appearance for Dave ‘I will die before I go down’ Senior.
The game started with Phoenix on the back foot straight away, a scrum against the head gave Moortown some quick ball that caught the Phoenix defence off guard, this followed by a missed tackle by Senior allowed the Moortown centre to get over for the try. At this point Phoenix woke up a little and for the next twenty minutes we battled, defending hard and desperately trying to win some first phase ball. Eventually, we managed to win a scrum and a couple of lineout’s on the trot, giving us some forward momentum. Off a second phase ruck Elliot managed to break the Moortown defence and offload to Brookfield for the try. Phoenix had managed to get themselves back into the game at this point.
From the kick off Phoenix were put under immense pressure straight away, the Moortown pack was running hard and the backs were finding gaps. After some scrambling defence by Phoenix, Nick Germain managed to hold a Moortown attacker up over the line giving a scrum five to Moortown. After dominating the scrums all game, Moortown decided to attempt to drive over. Phoenix battled and was able to hold out for five or six scrums before the Moortown pack managed to drive over for a try. The Phoenix pack held out as long as they could, but it was clear that they lacked some power in the engine room. Seniors scrummaging technique lacked in many areas, it was clear that he had not being paying attention to Massimo or simply that he was stood on the wrong side of him at the time.
Within two minutes from the try, Phoenix again found themselves on their own try line, this time facing a penalty, probably given away by Veal, the Moortown captain opted for the scrum in an attempt to get over for another driven try. This time Phoenix was able to hold out until the half time whistle.
During the halftime talk this time taken by our injured captain Longworth, as Coach Senior couldn’t talk very well with an oxygen mask round his face, we recognised that we could not do anything without first phase possession. Shorten the lines and start to second guess Moortowns. Without first phase we were never going to give our backs the ball they required. With the scores 12-7 we could still win it.
Unfortunately, straight from the kick off, Phoenix lost possession and the Moortown backs sent the ball wide with speed. The Phoenix back line had been caught off guard and was dog legged giving the Moortown centre a chance to pick his gap and get over in the corner. Exactly not what Phoenix wanted at this point.
Phoenix came back at Moortown and looked close to scoring after a good back row move but unfortunately Brookfield was hauled down before the line. From the resulting scrum an innocently attempted charge down by gentleman Taylor, that took out the ten as well, gave the petit nine ‘Frodo’ the opportunity to dink Taylor square on the nose. This sparked a mass brawl with Senior in the thick of it, but after a couple of minutes it calmed down and the ref gave a penalty against but took no action to either sides players. This gave Moortown the chance to clear their lines and get out of their half.
The game finished with two quick tries, the first scored by the nine who ran blind and managed to shrug off a few Phoenix defenders to get over. Poor tackling on all accounts. The second was taken blind again but this time, it seemed that an obstruction had occurred, as the bulky Moortown substitute centre took out two Phoenix defenders allowing the Moortown player to run behind him and score in the corner. The final score was 29-7.
Overall, no side can expect to win a game when you lose 90% of your own scrums and lineout’s. It is in no way down to any one person but the pack as a whole. If things are going bad, then we have to pull it together, grind out every last bit. Much improvement needed if we intend to advance any further in the cups. |
