Sat 30 Nov 2024
Ahead of their crunch clash with third placed Camp Hill, OC’s hosted their second Vice Presidents Lunch at the Club with 85 hungry and thirsty patrons enjoying some early Christmas fayre. The crowd, buoyed by a few sherbets over lunch, were treated to an end to end 75-point classic of a game from two teams intent on running the ball from anywhere and everywhere on the pitch.
OCs and Camp Hill had not met on the field for many years and, as they ran out, the visitors looked like a big side with some huge forwards and some big, solid backs. But they started the game in style, moving the ball through their hands from inside their own half, gradually working their way deep into the OC’s 22. OCs were forced to give away a couple of penalties, the second of which was slotted over by the Camp Hill full back, to give them an early lead. A lead which would change hands seven times during the game. OCs had a chance to draw level just two minutes later, but fly half Chatty Senavirathne’s long range penalty attempt just slid wide of the right hand post. Shortly after, a trademark move by the OC’s backs saw full back Ollie Cunningham cut into the line, finding a gap in the defence. He then fed the ball inside to George Curtis who then flicked the ball out to Ayuk Takang on the wing, with the winger outstripping the covering defence to dot down in the corner.
Typical of the way this game went throughout, Camp Hill came straight back into it. Another OC’s penalty from the ensuing kick off gave Camp Hill the opportunity to kick the ball into the corner and from the lineout they produced a solid driving maul taking the ball within inches of the OCs’ tryline. As the referee called “…use it…” the Camp Hill No. 9 picked the ball out and scampered down the blindside to put them back in front at 5 – 8. To the delight of the large crowd, both sides continued to show attacking intent, moving the ball through the hands rather than playing a tactical kicking game. With Camp Hill dominating possession, OCs were forced to defend for a lot of the first quarter, with Josh Kent once again putting himself about as he knocked back the Camp Hill players time and time again. As the game became quite frantic, errors crept in by both sides and a couple of fairly clear knock-ons and forward passes were strangely not picked up.
Against the run of play, OCs picked the ball up near halfway and a beautifully weighted Crossfield kick by George Curtis pinned Camp Hill on their own 5m line. Leaping like a salmon, the ever-impressive Dan Anderson stole the line-out ball to set up a ruck near the line. Sam Miles delivered the ball quickly out to fly half Chatty who’s pinpoint cross-field kick was caught out on the left wing by Ayuk Takang who finished off the move for his second try of the game and return the lead to the OC’s.
With 10 minutes to go in the half, the OC’s backs finally started to show some rhythm and fluency in their play. A neat move down the line gave Ayuk the ball with a bit of space to work in. He stepped past the first two defenders, and then showed the chasing Camp Hill full back a clean pair of heels – diving over in the corner for a brilliant first half hat-trick. With the ebbing and flowing of the game continuing right up until the end of the half, Camp Hill responded immedaitely by moving the ball around quickly and accurately, finally finding a gap in the OC’s defence. Although the Camp Hill ball carrier was hauled down just shy of the OC’s line, the referee deemed it to be too high, awarding a penalty try and giving a yellow card to fullback Ollie Cunningham. The half finished with both teams tied on 15 all and with both sides in need of a short break to get their breathes back after a very fast-paced 40 minutes of open, running rugby.
Half-time score: Old Coventrians 15 v 15 Camp Hill
The second half continued in very much the same vein as the first with Camp Hill taking the first opportunity to move the scoreboard on. Preferring to pass than kick, they moved the ball from within their own half with some lovely interplay between their backs and forwards, finishing off several passages of play by scoring a great team try, which was converted by their full back. The lead moved back in Camp Hill’s favour once again at 15-22. However, the topsy turvy nature of this game saw the OC’s come back in style. Some good ball retention by the OC’s players, paid dividends as centre, Emosi Nabakeke, found enough space in the Camp Hill defence to dart through and score wide out on the right. Chatty stepped up and slotted home a lovely conversion to draw the sides back level once again.
Camp Hill then began to establish some superiority in the game with their style of play and a tiring OC’s defence. Progressing down the field, Camp Hill pushed themselves to within 5m of the whitewash and their elusive scrum half found enough space to cross the line for his second try of the match. The converted try took them 7 points clear. The pressure seemed to be beginning to take it’s toll on the OC’s as they pushed to get back in the game. A loose pass in the backs was intercepted by one of the Camp Hill centres who darted through the OC’s line to score under the posts – extending their lead to 14 points.
Some spectators decided that the game was now out of reach for the OC’s and wandered back to the comfort and warmth of the bar. But what sets this year’s OC’s team apart from some teams of the recent past is their determination and never-say-die attitude. However, it was more of a stroke of luck that got them back in the game with just 10 minutes left to play. Camp Hill, still looking to play open, running rugby, fell foul of the OC’s press defence forcing a wayward pass which the eager Dan Anderson picked up in the middle of the field and managed to outstrip the chasing Camp Hill defence to give OC’s a glimmer of hope. Chatty notched the conversion and OCs were back within a try.
What followed was an odd passage of play! The game had been played in great style and great spirit but in what seemed like a harmless ruck, a Camp Hill forward was clearly seen delivering several punches to the head of one of the OC’s backs, who was pinned to the ground and unable to defend himself. The referee could not have seen this and after several minutes’ treatment for the injured player, the game resumed. The very next play saw the Camp Hill winger yellow carded for a fairly innocuous push on his opposite number after the whistle had been blown – leaving them with 14 men for the remainder of the game. The game could easily have boiled over after this incident but, to the credit of both captains and their players, the game saw no further unsavory incidents. With the clock ticking OC’s defensive pressure paid further dividends as another loose pass in the Camp Hill backs was intercepted this time by Emosi on the 10m line and he was just too fast for the chasing defenders. The conversion by Chatty drew the scores level at 36-36 with just 5 minutes left on the clock. With the light growing dark, OC’s had the better of the play forcing penalties out of the Camp Hill team. The first penalty gave Chatty a chance to clinch the game, but his penalty attempt from right on the halfway line was pushed wide of the posts. Not to be denied, OC’s forced another penalty giving Chatty another chance to give OC’s the lead. This kick was a few metres closer and Chatty made no mistake and drove the ball between the sticks to secure the spoils for the OC’s.
It is clear to see why these two teams are towards the very top of the league table and with little to choose between them, the draw would probably have been the fairest result. But, on a day when OCs were probably not at their fluent best in attack nor as steadfast as they usually are in defence – the victory felt all the sweeter. Camp Hill’s deft handling and excellent support play, married with the enterprise and opportunism of the OC’s backs made for an excellent game of rugby. A very well-taken hat-trick from Ayuk Takang and two more tries for promising Emosi Nabakeke deserve special mention. This is a very competitive league indeed, as the last few games have shown. And the games don’t get any easier when OC’s travel down to deepest, darkest Herefordshire to play undefeated (for 3 seasons) Luctonians II’s next weekend.
Full-time score: Old Coventrians 39 v 36 Camp Hill
