1stXV’s First Visit To ‘The Avenue’ Sees Bonus Point Win
The first ever game between the clubs at 1stXV level saw Ampthill’s five hour, traffic delayed journey begin at 08:15 on a day which started out in ‘mizzle’, became wet, then cold & windy before bright sunshine arrived for much of the match which ended in a downpour.
Wharfedale’s picturesque ground, located in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, provided an excellent surface and the welcome from the hosts was as friendly as any yet experienced on Amps odyssey. As community clubs, the hosts & the visitors share much in common, including a ‘proper’ clubhouse in which visitors instantly feel at home.
A’s squad saw multiple changes, in the forwards Ralph Adams-Hale came in at loosehead with Aleki Lutui moving to hooker. Former Bedford Blue Benjamin Gulliver made his league debut at lock and Matthew Burke moved to blindside to accommodate Matthew Howling’s return at openside. The backs saw Kevin Barrett start at scrum half, William Goodge at inside centre with Brendan Burke moving to outside centre. The replacements included Viliami Ma’asi & Gavin Williams.
The late arrival saw kick off put back 15 minutes but A’s, for once, appeared to have got off the bus early, starting well winning a couple of ‘Dale lineouts. Two infringements and resulting penalties and some enterprising back play saw the hosts take the lead with a fine unconverted try from inside centre Huw Morgan in the 6th minute.
Despite the set back it was apparent that the visitors pack were in the ascendancy in the set piece and the loose with a 16th minute 5m lineout catch & drive try from replacement Ma’asi, on due to Howling’s early injury. Wing Elliot Clements-Hill converting to begin what turned into a day of personal points accumulation.
On 20 minutes Ampthill’s pack repeated the catch & drive process with Ma’asi again touching down wide on the left, Clements-Hill’s conversion attempt coming back off a post.
Just 3 minutes later Amps were back in the home 22 with a 5m scrummage, half back Barrett broke blind and fed Clements-Hill who crashed over by the corner flag, his conversion attempt drifted wide.
For much of the first quarter Wharfedale had been on the back foot but they responded with determination, keeping the ball for an extended period and forcing A’s to defend. Unfortunately, a fine line break from outside centre Cameron Hudson, who stepped inside to beat or break 3 tackles finished with a loose pass snaffled by Clements-Hill outside his 22. The wing raced 70m to touch down under the posts in the 30th minute, securing the bonus point in the process, before converting his own try.
Trailing 5-24, ‘Dale redoubled their efforts with much of time remaining being spent in the visitors half but the score remained unchanged at oranges.
The second half began with a fired up hosts taking play to Ampthill, their forwards using pick & go at rucks to gain ground while the backs continued to ask questions of the visitors defence. A succession of phases deep in Amps 22 saw Wharfedale camped on the goal line and then denied what looked to most observers a perfectly good try when scrum half Harry Skelton picked up and dived over a breakdown on 49 minutes. Apparently, neither the referee nor his assistants had sight of the touchdown and a 5m scrum to ‘Dale was the result.
Incidents like this can change games, who knows what might have happened had the score been given, momentum is so important, however, the visitors won a penalty at the ensuing scrum and were able to clear their lines.
To add insult to injury, Ampthill were soon back on the attack for Clements-Hill to seal a hat-trick in the 54th minute finishing wide out and missing the conversion.
Despite the now seemingly impossible task of having to score four times, the home side continued to attack at every opportunity and were rewarded on 61 minutes by a try for openside Christopher Howick with fly half James Guy adding the extras.
That this turned out to be the final score of the game was more down to the weather than the teams as a heavy downpour made conditions difficult.
A fine performance by Ampthill for 60 minutes secured the game against a young, talented opposition who caused more trouble to Amps open play defence than any other faced this season. This was a bold statement in response to two successive narrow losses with much improved decision making and execution.
Head Coach Paul Turner commented “A good win in an always difficult place against lively opposition. The error count was much reduced and the set piece dominant for much of the game, Ben Gulliver had a great debut. Very pleased that the squad bounced back after consecutive defeats.”
Wharfedale
Tries:- Morgan (12), Howick (61)
Conversion:- Guy (62)
Ampthill
Tries:- Ma’asi (12, 20), Clements-Hill (23, 30, 54)
Conversions:- Clements-Hill (13, 31)
Referee:- Gareth Holsgrove
Attendance:- 423
Man Of The Match:- Aleki Lutui, Viliami Ma’asi
