PROMOTED Sandown and Shanklin RFC maintained their 100 per cent winning start to the Counties 1 Hampshire season with a decisive victory over Bournemouth seconds at The Fairway Ground on Saturday.
HURRICANES 45, BOURNEMOUTH II 7
The match marked the first competitive encounter between the two teams in the division.
The hosts, aiming to extend their perfect start to the season, swiftly took control of the game.
After penetrating the Bournemouth 22, the Hurricanes secured an attacking scrum on the visitors' five-metre line.
READ MORE:
Bournemouth's subsequent kick-off failed to reach the 10m line, resulting in another scrum for the Hurricanes.
Michael Barrett, who had an excellent game, capitalised on a clever set play from the scrum, to score the Hurricanes' second try, with Burr adding the conversion, to double their advantage.
Despite the early pressure from the Hurricanes, the visitors found some success at the line-out.
However, a penalty awarded to the Hurricanes led to a line-out that Bournemouth's second row intercepted.
The visitors attempted to counter-attack, but Rob Newton was quickest to react to a spilled ball, scoring under the posts and increasing the lead to 19-0.
The Hurricanes secured a bonus point try just before the half-hour mark.
A tap penalty led to a well-executed forwards move, with Ben Shannon offloading to Barrett, who scored his second try of the afternoon.
Burr missed his second conversion attempt, but the score stood at 24-0.
The Hurricanes' forwards, including Flux, Skelley, Chiverton and Carew, continued to drive the team upfield.
Despite two attempts being held up over the line, fly-half Burr eventually scored another try from a strong Sandown scrum.
Burr converted his own try, sending the home team into the half-time break with a comfortable 31-0 advantage.
The second half began with the Hurricanes scoring again just after the restart.
Once more, the Bournemouth kick-off failed to reach the 10m line, and a scrum was elected.
From this, Ash Smith sprinted past defenders to score beside the posts, with Burr converting to push the score to 38-0 and game over for the visitors.
Bournemouth, however, managed to break through the Sandown defensive line to score under the posts, bringing the score to 38-7.
The final score came from a powerful centre Rob Newton.
From a scrum set piece move, the ball found its way to Newton, who scored, marking a man-of-the-match performance. Burr converted.
Keith Wallace, the Hurricanes' director of rugby, expressed delight at the team's performance, noting the depth at the club and the positive impact on both teams' league standings.
House Rules
We do not moderate comments, but we expect readers to adhere to certain rules in the interests of open and accountable debate.
Read the rules here