Match report - 11th Nov 2017

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Well done the Sutton Wonder Women and well done players/organisers Charlie Byrne & Sammi Allwood plus coach Nathan Burchell.

David Daniels
SCRFC 1st XV Team Manager

Once again in spite of a much improved and spirited second half performance, Sutton 1st XV struggled to overturn the 18-0 deficit they had conceded in a disjointed first half at the home of Worcester Wanderers last weekend ...but the Sutton second half fight back did secure a losing bonus point as they closed to 26-19 in the final period of the game, matching their opponents with 3 tries apiece but in the end it was the penalty count that worked against them as they conceded 3 penalties plus 1 conversion against their own 2 conversions, on another disappointing away day.

Once again late changes reconfigured the match day team as centre Tom Harris accelerated his return from injury by stepping off the bench into the starting line up when winger Tom Burrows had to withdraw after being taken ill Friday night and Mike Burns, also returning after an ankle injury moved out on to the wing. Nathan Heath, who made his debut last weekend started again at scrum half and Oliver Green continued in the unfamiliar position of fullback to complete the backline. Similar problems faced the forwards with the highly rated and reliable Dean Harper stepping up from his coaching role once again to help out as he replaced the injured George Ord at no8 and the 2nd row partnership of Jamie Willetts and Peter Meachin was renewed in the pack but a last minute change saw prop Zac Loffman move off the bench into the front row to join fellow prop Luke Hennessy, after Danny Griffin had to withdraw late on. Also with two first choice hookers unavailable due to injury Sutton were very lucky that Jonny Ursell, a 1st XV hooker from previous seasons but now based in Portsmouth, was home in Sutton last weekend and was free to play as he is stilled a registered player for the club.

So again apart from the last minute changes, on paper the Sutton team looked a decent outfit, however, although there was a strong team spirit there was no familiarity in the key playing positions, which is the blight of a constantly changing team and has plagued Sutton all season.

With gloomy conditions prevailing the game kicked off at 2.15pm under flood lights with Sutton receiving and before Sutton could settle Worcester stormed forward winning a penalty in midfield 35 metres from goal, which fly half Tom Biggs kicked to give the home side an early 3-0 lead with just 2 minutes played.

Things did not get any better for Sutton and on 15 minutes a poor clearance from the Sutton 22 failed to find touch on the Sutton left wing. Worcester gathered the ball in space on their right, setting up an attack which took play across the Sutton 22 and two quick passes put the ball into the hands of the Wanderers left wing Will Carroll, who raced in on a wide arc to score in the left corner. Tom Biggs landed the conversion and Sutton trailed 10-0 after 15 minutes. On 30 minutes Sutton suffered a further setback when prop Luke Hennessy was yellow carded for a scrum infringement in the red zone but he also suffered an injury to his shoulder, which brought long serving ex 1st team prop Dave Smith off the bench at the next scrum to continue his long erstwhile service with the Sutton club, as he responded to Sutton's long injury list in the front row.

As Sutton struggled to contain Worcester with 14 men they then suffered a second yellow card and were reduced to 13 men in the remaining 5 minutes of the first half. Along with the yellow card in the Sutton 22 Worcester were awarded a penalty, which Biggs kicked to extend the lead to 13-0 before Worcester hooker James Swain scored a try in the left corner on the stroke of halftime after a chip and chase split the restricted Sutton defence. The conversion was missed but Worcester took an 18-0 lead into the break.

In spite of the deficit and still down to 14 men Sutton made a valiant start to the second half with prop Zac Loffman making some charging runs and returning hooker Jonathan Ursell making his presence felt with some strong play putting the home side under sustained pressure in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. Restored to a full 15 the Sutton pressure led to a penalty against Worcester in front of their posts. At this point 3 points were no use to Sutton so they took a tap penalty swinging the ball first left then right to create an opening for centre Tom Harris, who raced in to score an excellent try to the left of the posts. Captain for the day Ben Morgan kicked the conversion to bring the score to 18-7 with 10 minutes of the second half played.

Sutton continued to press forward and their efforts were rewarded once again when good attacking play down the left took play into the Wanderers 22 before the ball was swung into midfield and out towards the right, where 2nd row Peter Meachin was lurking and the lock drove over for a well executed try. Unfortunately the conversion just shaved the outside of the near post but Sutton had closed to 18-12 with 16 minutes of the second half played.

Having closed to within 6 points, Sutton's promising recovery stuttered following the restart when a lapse in defence allowed Worcester to exploit an overlap on the left wing for winger Will Carroll to race in for his second try of the day. The conversion was missed but Sutton found themselves 23-12 down with 22 minutes to play to end of the game.

The game moved onto the 30 minute mark in the second half before a further score was registered and unfortunately it was against Sutton when they were penalised for holding on to the ball in their own 22. Tom Biggs kicked the penalty to extend the lead to 26-12 with 10 minutes left to play.

To their credit Sutton raised their game in the closing minutes setting up an attack down their left wing driving deep into the Worcester 22 before releasing the ball into mid field and centre Tom Harris weaved his way over to score his second try of the day and fly half Ben Morgan stepped up to the mark to land the conversion, which secured Sutton a losing bonus point by bringing the scores to within 7 points, with all points welcome at this stage in the proceedings.

With all the injuries to the current 1st XV players, thanks go to Sutton's erstwhile previous players, Dean Harper, Ben Bottomley and David Smith amongst others, who have stepped out of the shadows back into the spotlight of 1st XV rugby to respond to Sutton's constantly growing injury list.

This weekend Sutton take a break from league rugby and concentrate on cup rugby as the compete for the Warwickshire Cup on Sunday 19th Nov against their old rivals from National 3, Nuneaton RFC at the Butts Arena, Coventry RFC. KO 2.15.

Sutton have previously won the Cup in 1996, 2003, 2010 and 2011 and the team will be looking to get their season back on track with a 5th Warwickshire Cup Championship victory.

All support welcome for what should be a highly entertaining game based on the performance Sutton produced to win the semi-final.

Sutton other team results:

Now for the good news; Sutton Women went to the top of their league table after a 31-5 victory away to Winnington Park last Sunday as detailed below, completing 5 wins out of 5 games, making them the outstanding team in the Sutton stable.