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Match report courtesy of John Lowe. Image Courtesy of Stephen Gascoigne
ESHER 18 -27 DONCASTER KNIGHTS
For their visit to the leafy suburbs of South West London to play eighth placed Esher, Doncaster’s Director of Rugby Lynn Howells made a number of changes to the side that comfortably accounted for Newbury at Castle Park the previous weekend. At halfback he gave opportunities to Cerith Rees and Dan Storey at flyhalf and scrum half respectively having both missed a great part of the season due to injury. In the front five of the pack, Howells played both his Tongan internationals from the recent Rugby World Cup Toma Toke and Lisiate Fa’aoso at prop and lock respectively in place of Richard List and Bryn Griffiths who moved to the bench. Finally, at flanker Howells brought in England U 20 international Matt Cox who the club had brought in on loan from Worcester to help them out with their back row injury crisis. For their part Esher included Graham Dewes the Fijian prop who scored the try that knocked Wales out of the World Cup.
In a match played throughout in good conditions, it was Esher who went ahead after only 2minutes when their fly half David Slemen kicked a penalty from 45 metres after the Knights were penalised for handling in a ruck. For the next 7 minutes it was all Doncaster as they piled the pressure on Esher and they spurned two kickable penalties to opt for short range line outs, both of which they almost scored from. However, it was the home side who went further ahead on only their second visit to the Knights half when Slemen kicked his second long range penalty after Doncaster’s forwards were again penalised for playing the ball on the ground. Doncaster came straight back and kept Esher pinned in their own half for 15 minutes without scoring before they at last took advantage of a penalty almost in front of the post and close in which Rees kicked with ease. Almost from the restart Esher had lock Paul Barker sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes when referee Roy Maybank tired of the persistent illegal slowing down of Doncaster’s ball but, to the anguish of the Knight’s travelling supporters, it was the home side who scored next against the run of play. Esher won a scrum midfield on their own 22 and, although their No 8 Mike Blakeburn was caught with the ball, it was recycled and moved quickly to the left where their winger Charlie Amesbury, on loan from Harlequins, managed the beat defending winger Paul Bailey on the outside before racing 60 metres deep into the Knight’s half. On his own 22 Knight’s full back Anthony Carter cleverly forced Amesbury to cut inside to allow flanker Cox to just stop the flying winger and the danger seemed to have averted but quick ruck ball gave Slemen the chance to chip to the right hand corner where winger Matt Moore won the race for the touchdown for a try which Slemen himself converted from fairly wide out. Shortly afterwards Esher were back to full strength when Barker returned to the fray but it was the Knight’s who were on the attack for the last few minutes of the half.
At half time Howells, having seen his side squander probably 70% possession and territory though careless handling and indiscipline with the ball on the ground, decided to bring on his regular halfbacks Mark Woodrow and Ben Jones in place of Rees and Storey. From the outset of the second half it was obvious that whatever Howells had said during the interval had had the desired effect as the Knights stepped up a couple of gears and they scored within 5 minutes. Firstly Woodrow made a good break from just inside his own half before chipping ahead only to see his chasing centre Spencer Davey just beaten to the ball by the Esher covering defence. After a poor drop out from the resultant 22. Doncaster regained possession and, after the ball was moved back and forwards left and right, with backs and forwards interpassing, the ball was again moved to the right where Matt Cox crashed over near the posts for his first try for the club which Woodrow converted. The Knights were now starting to click and, although Slemen missed a long range chance to extend his side’s lead, Woodrow kicked a penalty from 40 metres with almost 60 minutes gone, after Esher were penalised for a high tackle, to bring the scores level. Doncaster were now getting well on top and, for the next 10 minutes, they enjoyed a purple patch with Esher hardly seeing the ball. Firstly scrum half Jones broke from 40 metres and, when he was caught, quick recycling of the ball saw prop Richard List, just on as replacement for Toma Toke, drive over 15 metres to the right of the posts for a try which Woodrow converted. Next Doncaster won a lineout on the Esher 22 and, after prop Ngalu Ta’u had made a few metres, he linked up with fellow Tongan international Lisiate “Richard” Fa’aoso, who burst through the remaining tackler to race through to the post for his first try for the club which Woodrow again converted. With a lead of 27 points to 13 the Knights’ fans were looking for their team to cut loose but they then conceded four penalties in as many minutes with Mark Cox being yellow carded for diving over the ball at the last one. Esher opted to kick to the corner in search of a bonus point and from the resultant lineout their catch and drive gave the Knights’ defence a stern examination which they stood up to well. However when Doncaster were again penalised, this time close to their line, a quick tap gave flyhalf Slemen just enough space to dive over for a try about halfway out which he then surprisingly failed to convert. As the game went injury time both sides went looking for a try that would give either of them a bonus point but their defences held firm as each took it in turns to attack.
After the match, Lynn Howells said that the positive that had come out of the match for him was that he had been able to give game time to a couple of players who had not had much opportunity due to injury as well as allowing two of the club’s newer players to fit into the side’s patterns of play. However, Howells said that at half time he felt that, with no disrespect to the players he brought off, he needed to revert to the back division that had been playing regularly together in order to capitalise on the possession his pack were winning and to bring the game back on course.
Esher: D. Flockhart; M Moore; B. Armitage; T Clouston; C Amesbury; D Slemen (D Hewitt); G Barr; G Dewes (D Millard); S Goldsmith; A Alexander (J Pearson); P Barker: A Harris (M Mayhew); M Butterworth; T Yellowlees; M Blakeburn. Subs not used: J Barnes; E Amapakabo; R Henderson.
Doncaster: A Carter: P Bailey; B Hunt; S Davey, J Bishop; C Rees (M Woodrow); D Storey (B Jones); T Toke (R List); S Boden; N Ta’u; G Kenworthy; L Fa’aoso (B Griffiths); O. Cook; C Planchant; M Cox Subs not used: W Davies; T Davies; J Jones.
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