Chiswick Meet Cheshunt Challenge

Rugby Result - Chiswick 46 Cheshunt 17

The final score flattered the home team, who crushed an unfortunate Cheshunt, down to fourteen players, in the final minutes. Although Chiswick had established an earlier superiority, working very hard from the off, to go 15-0 up, the visitors came back strongly, and at 22-17 it was anybody’s match.

From Keith Luckman’s excellent starting drop-kick, Chiswick regained possession and were immediately on the attack. At the first scrum, the Cheshunt pack buckled slightly as the heavier than usual home front row put the pressure on. Prop Steffan ( Tubs ) Davies was captaining, and the exhortations were soon forthcoming. Putting several phases together in the Cheshunt 22, a neat pass by outside centre Ben Cheston led to a home try, as Luckman found inside centre John Gibson with a long pass, the latter streaking through a rather static defence. Luckman converted.

Adrian Lewis, in an unfamiliar full back position, showed his class when a poor pass reached him on the home line. He coolly sidestepped two attackers and surged to the 22 line before laying the ball back well for the clearance kick. Chiswick kept the pressure on, and Luckman dropped a goal. Cheston and Luckman then set up a good(ish) position for Lewis, i.e he had only three defenders to run through. No problem for the lad with the invisible shield. There was with the kick, however. It was looking easy, but Cheshunt suddenly remembered that they had played at much higher levels, and a period of pressure led to a good try by their full back from close in after great defence by the home team.

The second half was initially fairly even, with a converted try to each side following a penalty for Cheshunt. The visitors were down to fourteen after fifteen minutes, however, and the pressure was telling. The Chiswick try was a corker, stemming from a poor penalty kick by Cheshunt, well caught and run back by Lee Miller. He linked with Cheston and Lewis, and wing Roman Zakrevsky, finally getting a decent pass, showed what he thought of the visitors’ defence by taking a straight line from the wing to the posts, via a number of flailing defenders. Luckman converted this one, but the kick-off was a good one, and for the only time in the match, Chiswick made a hash of the catch, and paid the price when the impressive Cheshunt No.8 scored from the ensuing scrum.

The last seventeen minutes were all Chiswick, however, who went further ahead within a minute when Zakrevsky got his second, well converted. Then a good home maul set up from a clean lineout take by Matt Vinden allowed Miller to come into the line from the left wing as the ball was opened out to the right, and Luckman found him with a long pass. The defence hesitated, and the speedster cut untouched between two defenders to score an exciting try in the corner. Lewis got the next try after a scything burst by Cheston, and substitute Ben Maguire clinched an important win when a tapped penalty was given to Davies, who made some yards and slipped the ball to him. Luckman slotted the final kick.

Chiswick team :- Davies, Jaubert, Betts ( Campbell ), Chraplewczyk, Smith, Adams ( Maguire ), Robbings, Vinden, Walker, Luckman, Miller, Gibson, Cheston, Zakrevsky, Lewis

January 31, 2007