Teddy Hall capitalised on Oriel’s slow start to win a game that was for the most part staid and error-strewn in unfavourable conditions. Hall went over the line three times in the first half hour to open up a lead that Oriel, for all their subsequent perseverance and occasional menace, never seemed likely to overhaul.
In a game of relatively inexpansive rugby – a response to the drizzle in the air and the underfoot squelch – Hall, especially in the first half, proved more effective in their use of the ball. The forwards recycled powerfully and efficiently, and the backs, marshalled by an influential 10-12 partnership, moved the ball quickly enough in the early stages to do damage out wide.
The number 12, James Heywood, scored the first and had a role to play as Rob Humphreys scored in the corner a few minutes later, and then again as one of the most fluid backline combinations in the game released winger Owen Silk, whose burst of pace was enough to take him round the outside of the Oriel defence unchallenged to score Hall’s third under the posts. Oriel only really grew into the game once the three try deficit had been established, with their forwards beginning to make their presence felt at the breakdown, and both centres making ground with hard-run lines.
Hall’s previous discipline started to dissipate, and on the stroke of half time Oriel got their reward for their more positive approach when a tap penalty taken inside Hall’s 22 led to a ruck from which the ball was quickly retrieved allowing a few quick passes to put the outside centre through a hole in Hall’s scampering defensive line and over for a try, making the score 19-5 at half-time.
There may have been little to warm the hearts (or the feet) of the small but hardy Oriel side-line contingent in the opening period, but they were afforded their share of off the pitch one-upmanship early in the second half as the game took a slightly farcical turn.
With Oriel camped in the opposition 22, one of Hall’s supporters took it upon himself to bring the referee’s attention to an alleged knock-on. The referee, for his part, wasn’t impressed at having his authority challenged by just any side-line loudmouth, and questioned his critic’s credentials. When it emerged that this particular loudmouth had in fact already taken his refereeing course thank you very much, the referee marched over to him, and brandished what was, in the context of this reasonably good-natured game, a very incongruous red card, much to the bemusement of all involved.
In any case, that late first-half score had given Oriel the sense that the game could still be retrieved, and a newfound purposefulness became apparent in their ball carrying. The forwards made good ground around the fringes of the ruck, providing the foundation for a period of sustained pressure on the Teddy Hall defence, who were suddenly struggling to clear their lines, or retain the ball when they did. But Oriel had their own problems with ball retention, and a number of handling errors prevented them from converting their territory into points.
When Hall’s kicker stroked a straightforward penalty over the posts a few minutes later, the game began to drift back into Hall’s favour. Neither side really imposed themselves on the second half though, and the period was dominated by a stream of scrums, penalties and turnovers as fatigue and wet weather took their toll.
The general scrappiness was punctured by the occasional line break, or string of phases, which yielded chances for both sides. It was Oriel who made the most of theirs, being awarded a penalty try after repeated ill-discipline from Hall on their own five metre line. Despite this encouragement leading to a great deal of possession in the closing stages, Oriel lacked the penetration to do any further damage.
So the score remained at 22-12, with Teddy Hall, reduced to 14 men for the last few minutes after the sin-binning of their right winger for a high tackle, defending well enough to hold onto their lead in relative comfort.
