“Civil Service try Cherry Picking”
PainswickPainswick brought a powerful pack to Tewkesbury Rd that tested the home side from the off.
Without doubt the Service front 8 knew they had been in a game and had a difficult afternoon in which they struggled to gain the ascendancy.Opening exchanges saw both sides testing each other out with powerful carries from both packs crashing into the defences.
Scrum time saw two powerful packs holding nothing back. A big Painswick front row really pressurised the home side and had the better of the early exchanges.
The visitors were punching holes into the service half and the home sides defence was being tested early on. A turnover from the home side and an attack up the blindside touchline saw No 8 Ollie Wilton with one defender to beat and winger Dan Bailey on his inside. The resulting inside pass was deemed to be only a knock on by the Painswick winger and a scrum was awarded by the referee. Another day could have easily seen the defender have 10 mins to think about the ‘knock on’. Service were starting to find some space wider and attacking away from the breakdown areas were reaping rewards. After 13 mins another attack down the wide channels found Wilton with one defender to beat and this time he took him on and powered his way through the tackle to open the scoring with a well worked try. The score was rewarded with the subsequent conversion from the impressive Will Markey and Service took the lead, 7 – 0.
Straight from the restart Painswick applied pressure and made it really difficult for Service to exit their own 22. On 16 minutes Service’s lineout was turned over and some powerful carries saw Painswick breach the line to level the scores 7 – 7.Game On! Will Markey was controlling the game superbly from 10 as he mixed things up with some great touch finds, clever grubber kicks and supplying his back line with clean ball to punch through the midfield. A powerful centre combination of Jack Gascoyne and Tim Davies carried well and kept the visitors defence honest all afternoon. Following a scrum on 24 mins the home side midfield found space for Gascoyne to power through a gap and score a powerful try that again was converted by Markey for Service to regain the lead, 14 – 7.
The bigger, heavier visiting pack started to tire in the latter stages of the first half and on 37 mins some great counter rucking from the home side back row saw possession turned over. Quick identification of an overlap out wide allowed the backs to shift the ball quickly and accurately to allow the evergreen Dan Bailey to stroll over for a great try. Again converted by Markey giving Service a hard fought, but thoroughly deserved, lead at half time. 21 – 7.
The half time break allowed Painswick to recharge the batteries and they came out fighting with real belief early in the second half. Service however, started the half as strongly as they finished the first. Some great carries from the forwards were well marshalled by scrum half Guthrie and saw the home side drive deep into the heart of the visitor’s defence. Quick ruck ball and some more powerful lines of running stretched the Painswick defence. Two, three, four phases with quick ball saw the home side really dominate and a excellent team try saw stand in centre Tim Davies sliding over the whitewash for the bonus point. The home support just stood and applauded and so they should. 28 – 7.
Service started to gain the ascendancy and camp themselves deep in the opposition’s half. The “3 games retired” Dan Harvey replaced Andy Lees for some fresh legs in the home sides 2nd row and as the clock passed the 62 minute mark Service won a lineout 10 meters from the Cherry and Whites try line. A delightful, crowd pleasing and perfectly executed training ground move saw No 8 Ollie Wilton go over unopposed in the corner for the 5th try of the afternoon. A coaches delight and once again a moment the home crowd just watched and admired. Conversion narrowly missed and the score stayed at 33 – 7.
Painswick weren’t done and the home side fell foul of the referees patience with some uncharacteristic backchat and appeals over some rather suspect high tackles close to the service try line. Wilton was the most vocal and was subsequently shown the first of two quick fire yellow cards. Two minutes later a frustrated Gus Guthrie was able on this occasion, to throw his voice to his 10 that resulted in the second yellow, this time for Will Markey for ‘catching’ the abuse directed at the referee.Service were down to 13 with still 10 mins to play and had to dig in to keep the away side at bay. Two more changes were made which saw the introduction of Arron Hudson and Dan Wilson replacing Issac Lewis and Jacob Hennessy.
The visitors, now with the numerical advantage, took the ascendancy in the scrums and pinned Service in their own 22. The defence stood firm through the phases but the extra numbers eventually told and Painswick were able to find a gap and score in the corner for an unconverted try. 5 mins to play and the score moved to 33 – 12.
With two players short and the game won you would have forgiven the home side for keeping the ball and attempting to see out the game but that isn’t how they play. They continued to attack, keep the ball alive and take the game to the opposition right to the end. They were rewarded with a 6th and final try from Skipper Ross Ruck who threw in and regathered the ball from the back of a lineout maul before breaking off to dive over in the corner. The resulting conversion was converted superbly by Jack Gascoyne who drove the ball low through the uprights from a tight angle.
Final Score CCSRFC 40 – 12 Painswick.