LONDON WEST 3 PLAY-OFFS
HURRICANES 18, WEYBRIDGE VANDALS 22
SANDOWN and Shanklin went into their fourth appearance in a London South West league play-off fixture in buoyant mood after a strong season — but all hopes of promotion were dashed in an epic battle against a decent Vandals outfit.
After a frenetic start, the Vandals scored first with a try which stemmed from swift handling and a sweeping backs move — with a penalty quickly following — to lead the Isle of Wight's top side 8-0.
The Hurricanes got their first points on the board when captain, Sam Flux, converted a penalty inside the Vandals 22.
But Weybridge responded quickly after Hurricanes winger Owen Williams was sin-binned — knocking the ball down when trying to intercept a pass.
With the man advantage, Vandals exploited the space and scored, increasing their lead to 15-3 with the conversion.
Following the restart, excellent work by Damian Seder to reclaim Hurricanes possession, coupled with strong carrying from tighthead prop, Chris Skelley, and flanker Ryan Carey, brought the home side to the Vandals five metre line and, after few more phases, man of the match, Matt Miselbach powered over to pull it back to 15-8 before the half-time interval.
In the second half, the host’s defence was put under intense pressure and, after a carry just short of the posts, the ball popped up through the ruck to an oncoming Vandals player to dot down for 22-8.
The Hurricanes, desperate to find a way back into the game against a side with a well organised pack, pulled it back with another Flux penalty with about 20 minutes left.
Once the Vandals lost a player to the sin bin, the Hurricanes exploited the space and Jack Wedderkop received a pass out wide, barged through two tackles and scored.
The Hurricanes, trying to make a grandstand finish of it, knocked on in their final promising attack.
Hurricanes: Tyas, Chiverton, Skelley, Flux (capt), Seder, Miselbach, Carey, Rees, Jordan, Mitchell, Barrett, Tyson, Wedderkop, Williams, Sanderson. Replacements: Booth, Hunter, Borrer, Wetherick.
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