Middlesex Rugby

Middlesex Bowl Final Report and Pics

Final:

Chiswick v Teddington, Saturday April 5th at Chiswick RFC.

Result:

Chiswick 15 Teddington 5

REPORT ON THE FINAL OF THE MIDDLESEX BOWL 2008 Chiswick 15 Teddington 5

“A repeat of last year’s final; a chance for Teddington to avenge their 5th round Vase defeat. An interesting afternoon in store! The reality: a match of unrelenting forward endeavour with stifling defences, errors and injuries preventing any real flow to the action. And the odd hand-bag. And, it has to be said, a deserved Chiswick win. Teddington, playing into a strong wind, made the early running but without threatening the Chiswick line; a penalty opportunity for an early lead was missed.

Slowly Chiswick started to make in-roads: a slicing break by the full back, a kick and chase after a Teddington error in midfield. But, like Teddington earlier, the pressure only resulted in a missed penalty (hit the post). Then on 25 mins, and not in keeping with what had gone before, we had a slick, training-ground crafted Chiswick try. The right wing, Marc Jones, took an inside pass from the inside centre, Jon Gibson, went outside the covering defender which left him 2 on 1 with the fullback; a simple pass to outside centre Ben Cheston who scored under the posts. The conversion made the score 7-0. Not much happened until the 30th minute when, at least for the spectators, rugby took second stage. The heavens opened and rain and hail drove even the hardiest for cover.

The rugby itself stopped, not because of the inclement weather, but because first the Chiswick second row, Chris Jones, was pulled down in a line-out and departed to hospital. Then a Teddington player received treatment following illegal use of the shoulder, for which a yellow card was shown. A player up, Teddington worked their way to the Chiswick end. Awarded a scrum an attempted pushover was stopped but the No 8 picked up and was driven over. The conversion was missed. Half-time: 7-5. Unfortunately for Teddington the ‘storm’ had cleared the day and the wind dropped. Also, Chiswick raised their game, so however hard they tried – and early on there was some excellent phase play involving forwards and backs – Teddington simply could not get through the Chiswick defence. Chiswick on the other hand launched a sustained forward drive and were able to create just enough space for the substitute scrum half, Tom Alcraft, to get over in the corner. The conversion was missed. 12-5. The final score summed up the day for Teddington; they cross-kicked successfully only for the ball to be ripped off them and chipped ahead; the Chiswick centre was obstructed in the chase and a penalty awarded. The kick, from in front, was successful. 15-5. Game over.

A frustrating day for Teddington; they had the edge in the scrum and their lineout was solid, but they didn’t have the strength around the fringes to out-muscle the excellent Chiswick backrow; and, even with their 13 having an excellent game, they didn’t have enough guile behind to outwit the well organised Chiswick defence. Chiswick for their part did the basics well and their tries reflected the slight edge they had when they could get good ball. Finally, thanks to the non-playing Chiswick members for the excellent pre- and post match hospitality.”

By Lyndon Walters Bowl Organiser

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