Match Report

League Match

Old Cryptians Vs Kingswood

What was described as Kingswood’s biggest game of the season so far saw them take a trip to last years Gloucester 1 relegation sufferers, Old Cryptians.  The weather on the long journey north was shocking, with several sharp downpours of rain.  Kingswood still without a few first team regulars did welcome back Damien Crosswell after recovering from his hand injury, but there were call ups for Dave Vince, J.P. Toffi, Rob Edwards, Dan Nicholls and James Thorne.

The rain held off for the first half but the pitch was saturated with water and Kingswood knew that a 10 man game of rugby was likely to develop.  Playing up the slope in the first half, Kingswood were lucky not to go behind with only 1 minute on the clock as a young referee stamped his authority on the game and awarded a penalty to Old Cryptians for Kingswood holding on. Luckily though, No. 10’s conversion attempt was missed.

Kingswood hit back straight away and with only 5 minutes on the clock they put together a lovely flowing move to grab the lead.  Playing in the backs rather than his usual forwards position, Gareth Pond was influential in the move after he ripped the ball from Old Cryptians before releasing the ball to Derek James in the centre. A lovely dummy pass by James gave him a small amount of space to work with before releasing the ball to Ian Kirley who broke up the wing before feeding the ball back inside to Mark Oakley. Oakley powered up field but was tackled near the Cryptians try line.  A ruck was secured less than 5m out on the left and some quick hands along the line in the backs finally saw Mark McGarrigle dive over to grab the first points of the game.  Ben Phillips converted the kick despite having to place the ball on a training cone and Kingswood held an early 0-7 lead.

4 minutes after the try, Kingswood were penalised once again, this time for breaking the bind in the scrum and Old Cryptians once again kicked for the posts, but again No. 10 was unable to convert and Kingswood still held their lead.

Old Cryptians then had a flurry of penalties awarded to them and this allowed them to utilise the excellent boot of their Fly Half to keep Kingswood pinned in their 22.  Another penalty for Old Cryptians this time for Kingswood apparently interfering with the lineout jumper allowed Old Cryptians to kick to touch further down the pitch from which they setup a rolling maul before No. 1 drove over the line.  No. 10’s kicking was still not on form and he missed the conversion attempt and Kingswood held a much slimmer lead of 5-7

With the pitch cutting up badly all over the park, Kingswood were suffering in what is usually their key weapon, the scrums.  Kingswood were being sent back on numerous occasions thanks to the work of the impressive Cryptians Props however Kingswood’s rolling mauls were still on top form.  Kingswood resisted the Cryptians pressure well and as the half time whistle sounded, Kingswood held on to their 5-7 lead

 Half Time:  Old Cryptians 5-7 Kingswood

There was a change for Kingswood at half time as they welcomed back Damien Crosswell into the fold when he replaced the always solid James Thorne in the front row.  Kingswood were then however forced to make another substitution straight after as an injured Ben Phillips was forced to leave the field due to a back injury.  Replacement Scrum Half Dave Vince was on hand though to replace him.

With the pitch still not doing both teams any favours, the ball literally became bogged down in the middle of the park as both teams struggled to create any running rugby. 

 The referee continued his strict command on the game as Kingswood were penalised for coming into the ruck off their feet.  Verbal frustration at the decision then meant Kingswood were sent back 10 which allowed No. 10 a kick at the posts.  Incredibly No. 10’s unfortunate kicking continued as he missed his 4^th kick of the game which meant Kingswood remained 5-7 in the lead.

Kingswood were, rightly or wrongly, not seeing any of the penalty decisions coming their way which would have allowed them to increase their lead and ease the pressure.  With an hour of the game gone and the rain now back to it’s usual torrential self, Kingswood were penalised for diving in and Old Cryptians were given another chance at the posts.  No. 10 handed the kicking duties over to someone without a number on his shirt and unfortunately for Kingswood it done the trick and the penalty was successful and Kingswood were behind for the first time in the game 8-7

Kingswood were struggling to see much ball action as their disappointing scrummaging forced them to move the ball quickly which meant they were not allowed time to secure territory from the boot of their Fly Half, Dean Stephens.

There was then further disappointment for Kingswood when with literally the last kick of the game, Old Cryptains were given a penalty for an alleged Kingswood offside and Number ‘Unknown’ secured the win for Old Cryptians by converting in front the posts 11-7

The referee then ended the game which meant Kingswood were unable to inflict a first home defeat on Old Cryptians as they fell to their 2^nd defeat of the season, placing them back down into 4^th place.  Kingswood now have a break from league action as they travel to Pilning in the Combination Cup, a team they haven’t played since their Gloucester 3 days back in the 05/06 season.

Full Time: Old Cryptians 11-7 Kingswood