Sharks Go Down Fighting

On the road again, an in form Sharks team arrived in good numbers to face a sizeable Hornets squad who have lost only once at home all season. An interesting encounter seemed likely but whilst the pitch initially looked good, it soon cut up badly and a stiff breeze hampered the kicking game. The home side looked stronger throughout, dominating the set plays and giving the visitors no time on the ball but Sharks defended well, refused to give up and even began to pose the bigger threat as the match closed.

Hornets wasted no time from the kickoff relentlessly pressurising an error prone Sharks defence and they finally broke through after 15 minutes following a series of missed tackles although the blind sided referee failed to see the ball was dropped just before touchdown. Gordano were being drawn into rucks, lacked width and the fast game favoured by the Backs was impossible in the quagmire developing across much of the pitch. Weston were taking all the initiative and making the best of the conditions and 10 minutes later another try was taken off the back of a 5m scrum. The interval could not come soon enough for the visitors who had barely left their own half and they could look forward to having the wind behind them.

A series of handling errors at the restart gifted Weston a further try and a potential landslide defeat looked possible but slowly the visitors gained confidence, began to co ordinate passes and retain possession which led to a series of well planned and executed attacking moves culminating in a turnover tackle by Nathan Carey, penetrating Alex Walder run and quality try from winger Ollie Povey.

This low scoring contest was always going to be tough and although the team did not play their best, there was plenty of spirit on show. A lack of training was evident in the opening period and tackling quality, passing and shape improved massively as the game progressed. The team was on the back foot for much of the game but great credit must be given for the gutsy way in which they fought their way back into contention. Special mention for tackling ace full back Noah Holmes-Mcadam and best wishes for a speedy recovery to Will Magramalis and Ben Ingle who were taken off injured.

HT 14-0

FT: 19-7

Scorers

Hornets Tries: John Humphreys, Ben Eades, Connor Wall

Conv: John Humphreys (2)

Sharks Try: Ollie Povey

Conv: Alex Walder