Comfortable Oaks win over early season league leaders

Havant Match Report

 For the second week running Oaks First XV were able to dominate the opposition, with visitors Havant comfortably beaten as a result of an impressive all-round display by the home team. Oaks came close to keeping Havant scoreless for the full 80 minutes with only a last minute converted try saving the Hampshire team’s blushes. The Oaks made two changes in personnel and two positional alterations from last week’s victory but the depth of talent available to Head Coach and Director of Rugby Adam Bowman is notable. Continued set piece effectiveness and a growing fluidity of attacking play have been the platforms for 3 victories on the run.

After a respectful minutes silence for the sad passing of the Havant President, Nigel Campkin, the game began on another warm and sunny September day. A quiet opening 20 minutes saw some early pressure from Havant but no real danger, whilst Oaks exerted influence in the set-piece, disrupting their opponents’ early lineouts, which was to be a feature of the day. Then there followed an outstanding midfield break by centre James Fotheringham which led to several good phases, a penalty infringement by Havant at the breakdown and an easy 3 points from the boot of Oaks Ben Adams.

The first of a number of injuries didn’t disrupt Oaks momentum as Tom Morris was replaced by Sean Derrick, who also later needed to leave the field after a nasty clash of heads with his own player. Strong defence, territory and a breakdown dominance, except for a passage that led to a missed penalty shot by the Havant kicker, were the features of the remainder of the half. The 34th minute penalty to make it 6- 0 came as a result of a blistering 60 seconds of play with Drew Forrester forcing a knock on and then, after Havant had cleared from behind their line, a penalty won by the same player. Pressure continued to build with good field position including some eye-catching footwork by the new back Patrick Pellegrini, not resulting in tries but another penalty to Oaks, converted by ben Adams from 40 yards to make it 9 – 0 at half time. Sevenoaks will have felt well in control leaving the field as their opponents, whose forwards seemed to be finding the hot conditions challenging, stayed on the pitch to refocus for the next 40 minutes.

The second period started as the first finished. Some good phases off an Oaks lineout, and great hands by the backs saw ‘new boy’ Pelligrini dot down in the corner. The conversion was missed but at 14- 0 it felt a long way back for Havant. Oaks fitness looked excellent as they were relentless in chasing down their kicks and forcing Havant into making errors. Another penalty infringement by them in front of their own posts allowed the ever-reliable Ben Adams to make it 17-0. Gilbert Taoho was now on as replacement prop to add to an already effective scrum. The next 15 minutes saw more possession for Havant without really threatening the Oaks line. The home team’s tenacity and organisation in defence halted everything the direct running game of Havant could muster. 

At 70 minutes an Oaks catch and drive near the Havant line led to attacking phases moving across the width of the pitch allowing Jack Nay to drive over for Oaks second try. The conversion was missed but at 22-0 the result was not in doubt. The final moments of the game saw Havant play some of their best rugby with a superb 35 metre run by their hooker setting up good field position, leading to Oaks infringements, Havant pressure and eventually a converted consolation score with the last play of the game. The only slight disappointment for Oaks maybe was missing out on a bonus point but to be fair the precision was not quite there to exploit their second half opportunities. After the game Head Coach and Director of Rugby Adam Bowman said “A very pleasing performance and result against an in-form Havant side.  I thought we were excellent today in how we controlled field position, kept the scoreboard ticking over, applied huge pressure defensively and at the set piece, and scored some great tries.  Looking forward to another tough challenge against Sidcup RFC next week.”

Oaks versus Sidcup, 5th and 6th respectively with both teams on 13 points, should be a good contest.

Oaks dominance rewarded with bonus point win

Oaks First XV and their supporters navigated considerable travel difficulties to visit CS Stags at Chiswick for their London & South East league fixture on Saturday, looking for consecutive victories and their first on the road.

Running out comfortable winners in a game they never looked like losing, we only really saw the intensity Oaks showed the previous week against Westcombe Park during the second half, eventually running out 37 to 17 winners with two late consolation scores by CS disguising the Kent team’s dominance.

The first half, often scrappy and with a number of handling errors, saw Oaks score their only try of the half when a lovely kick over the CS defence by Ollie Shirtcliff was caught by Ben Adams for his first try of the day, converted by him to lead 7-0 after  7 minutes. Despite their early lead and strong dominance in both the scrum and lineout, Oaks didn’t press home their advantage and CS, when awarded a penalty in the 24th minute, made the score 7-3.

The remainder of the first half consisted of Oaks pressing in CS territory with eye-catching breaks from the Oaks new number 11 Awa Morris but with the team not able to convert pressure into points, including a missed penalty kick for goal after 32 minutes. It wasn’t until deep into stoppage time that the dominance in the scrum led to a penalty infringement by CS with the resultant kick slotted between the posts to give Oaks a 10-3 half time lead. With their own line not really threatened during the first 40 minutes, Oaks will have left the field knowing greater intensity and precision would be required to secure the victory and bonus point win.

Despite knocking on from the kick off, Oaks immediately delivered the step up Director of Rugby & Head Coach Adam Bowman would have demanded at half time. After 44 minutes a series of good phases of play started with Ben Adams ripping the ball away in a tackle and finished with him dribbling the ball skilfully, soccer style, over line to score his second try. The successful conversion made the score 17-3.

Oaks continued to penetrate the CS red zone but to the home team’s credit they were able to repel the usually effective Oaks catch and drive. In the 50th minute a ‘try’ by Awa Morris was disallowed for a forward pass but that only postponed the inevitable as a great switch of play right then left off the base of an Oaks scrum saw the number 11 finish well. The conversion made it 24-3 and the only question now was would Oaks secure the bonus point win.

With CS unable to generate any real go forward momentum and a growing penalty count against them, Oaks found themselves in front of the CS posts taking a scrum leading to Fred Richardson driving over to secure their 4th try and the bonus point. With 15 minutes remaining the score was 29-3.

There then followed the best passage of play by CS, rewarded with a try under the posts in the 74th minute. However Oaks immediately secured the kick off and having worked the ball into midfield, Josh Thorneycroft blasted through the opposition defence to score Oaks 5th try, converted, to lead 36-10 after 73 minutes.

With Oaks' defensive set up seeming largely untroubled by a late flurry from CS, a rare missed tackle allowed CS to head for the corner and be awarded a penalty try with the last action of the game. A final score of 36-17.

Director of Rugby and Head Coach Adam Bowman said after the game “it is great to come away with the win, our second in a row.  We were slow to come out of the blocks and lacked intensity in the first half, but in the second half we got to a good level and played some very good rugby.

Man of the match was awarded to Scott Sedgwick, with Ben Adams certainly running him close.

After a dominant and satisfying victory, Oaks look forward to welcoming early season league leaders Havant to the Paddock next Saturday for what will be a tough encounter.

Oaks controlled display overturns local rivals - Oaks 17 Westcombe Park 8

Senior rugby returned to the Paddock on Saturday, under an unseasonably warm September sun, welcoming local rivals Westcombe Park. After the 18 month long enforced break it was wonderful to see the tremendous commitment and intensity displayed by all of the players - with those taking part in the earlier 2’s game and the First XV match deserving of the appreciation shown by a large and noisy crowd. It was great to be back!

Director of Rugby & Head Coach Adam Bowman made 5 changes from the opening day defeat at Hertford and prepared the team to take on an opposition with many talented players and not inconsiderable bulk.

The final score of 17-8 suggests a close encounter - and indeed both sides contested every contact and breakdown fiercely - but in truth Oaks controlled the majority of the game demonstrating defensive discipline, attacking speed and power as well as strong set piece execution. The Oaks line was threatened only occasionally whilst perhaps also feeling they could have made more of some excellent attacking positions unsuccessfully converted.

In a game with numerous penalties it was Oaks who took the lead in the 8th minute with a successful kick by Ben Adams.  There followed a period of intense exchanges largely in the Westcombe Park half with the score remaining 3-0 until the 27th minute when a penalty kick to touch led to a catch and drive and Oak’s first try scored by Matt McRae converted by Ben Adams. It was deserved reward for controlled passages of play. There then followed an eye-catching storming run by one of the Combe backs that led to good field position and the chance to show their edge in the scrum. A penalty was awarded in the 33rd minute for Oaks not rolling away and the Combe kicker slotted it home to make it 10-3.

However, the Westcombe Park indiscipline returned and a series of penalties saw Oaks once again driving towards their opponent’s line leading the referee to award a penalty try and give a yellow card. 17-3 on the stroke of half time. There was one more opportunity for Oaks to show their control, but another penalty induced catch and drive was repelled by the Combe defence deep into stoppage time. A very impressive and satisfying half came to an end with the visitors leaving the pitch knowing they had it all to do in the second half.

The second half began with more penalty infringements by Combe, culminating in a high tackle on Ollie Shirfcliff offering an easy 3 points, which was turned down and eventually led to Combe winning a scrum from the choice to kick to touch. This led to some sustained pressure from the visitors with a mammoth Ben Adams clearance to halfway from behind the Oaks goal line offering relief. Oaks responded with some good phases of play and once again a high tackle led to a penalty and another yellow card for a Combe player. The first half control was beginning to return but as was to be the pattern of this scoreless second half for Oaks, set-piece chances near the goal line went unconverted as the referee penalised the home side for infringements.

Then after some good midfield phases Combe had their first second half stint in Oaks territory, forcing the home side  to infringe and despite Oaks winning the Combe line out from the penalty, the visitors managed to tap down the loose ball to score in the 63rd minute. The conversion was missed; 17-8.

The remainder of the game saw some good rugby from both sides with neither able to translate breaks into real try scoring opportunities. The Oaks defence looked secure and their breaks up field although catching the eye lacked the penetration needed to add to the score. The home crowd enjoyed a 50-yard kick-chase by second row Josh Pettet, perhaps laying down a marker for a start at number 10 next week ;)

The final whistle blew with both teams having given everything on a very hot day for rugby. Director of Rugby & Head Coach Adam Bowman said “I felt for large periods of the match we controlled the game and deserved the victory.  We have lots to work on, but on the whole it was great to get our first win of the season and to play in front of a packed crowd at the Paddock."

Tough day at Hertford RFC

Hertford RFC 28 – 12 Sevenoaks Rugby Club

Sevenoaks Rugby Club will need to step up a level from Saturday's performance away to Hertford.

A lot of hard work on the Paddock, in the gym and during warm-up fixtures presented the perfect build-up to their opening fixture in London & South East Premier division. On the day, however, the accuracy was lacking. Although Oaks returned home with little to show it was good to be back.

Both sides started tentatively as you might expect following an 18-month layoff. Handling errors disrupted the nervy opening exchanges, with decent sequences of possession invariably ending with a knock-on in the contact. The Oaks scrum was solid and Oaks enjoyed much of the possession in the first half but did not manage to convert this into any meaningful pressure in the Hertford 22. It took 38 minutes for the first score to be registered, Lloyd Davies giving Hertford a 3-0 advantage to take into the half-time break from a penalty in front of the posts.

The second half was incredibly frustrating for Oaks. Twice they looked like getting back on terms, first when Ben Adams danced down the left wing for Oaks' first try which he duly converted and the second time with Scott Sedgwick barrelling over for Oaks' second try. Twice they let Hertford take the game away from them. From a position to contest the result in the final 10 minutes of the match, a mix up at the back of the scrum gave Hertford a soft try and when they scored again from the re-start it was game over. 28-12 flattered the home side a little but Hertford certainly merited the win.

All support will be very welcome this Saturday as senior rugby makes its competitive return to Knole Paddock. Oaks entertain Westcombe Park in a triple header at the Paddock, with the 2nd XV and Gents also in Home action. The 1st XV kick off at 3:00pm. Come on you Oaks!

Sevenoaks Rugby Squad: James Simmons; Scott Sedgwick; Tom Simmons; Tom Morris; George Flatman; Matt McRae; Sean Derrick; Fred Richardson; Hugo Carter; James Fotheringham; Ben Adams; Nigel Gumbleton; Josh Thorneycroft; Drew Forrester; Jonny Short; Gilbert Tahao; Greg Langridge, and Awa Morris.