On a dry day at Andover’s Goodship Ground, visitors Petersfield, as the architects of their own downfall, came up short against a well-drilled and competitive opponent. Andover had not had the best start to the season, and as expected, old rivalries between the two teams gave piquancy to the fixture. In their victory, Andover moved up a league place to tenth, while Petersfield’s lack of league points from the match, as other close league rivals prospered, saw them drop from second to fifth in the twelve-team league.

Andover kicked off down their sloping narrow pitch and were soon recycling possession and threatening Petersfield’s twenty-two. Despite that setback, Petersfield appeared to dominate possession, if not field position, and for twelve minutes honours were even.

Petersfield were penalised for a high tackle and Andover elected to attempt a penalty kick, which was unsuccessful. Petersfield next lost a lineout just 15 metres from their line, and Andover powered through to score to the right of the posts.
Converted try 7-0.

Ten minutes were to elapse with Petersfield looking uncomfortable, while Andover’s tails were up. From inside Petersfield's twenty-two, great work from the pack and slick hands from the backs found left wing Seb Tuff in possession, making metres into Andover’s half. He was high-tackled, and the Andover player received a yellow card. The penalty kick from a difficult angle was unsuccessful.

Five minutes later, Petersfield played out of their half, with the ball passing through five players to find the excellent fullback Charlie Muir, who, from thirty metres out, put his head down, turned on the gas, side-stepped two would-be tacklers, and shrugged off another to score a try to the left of the posts.
Fly-half Nick Blumlein added the extras.
7-7.

From the restart, Petersfield took the game to Andover through the dominance of their pack and some excellent line breaks from their backline. Venturing into the host's twenty-two, with the try-line beckoning, an unnecessary and telegraphed pass was intercepted by Andover’s outside centre, who charged unopposed a full eighty metres to score under the posts.
Converted try 14-7.

Throughout the half and the rest of the match, Petersfield's pack were the masters of both scrum and lineout, though despite this superiority, the team found it difficult to make use of the possession in open play, not helped by the tenacity of Andover’s defence and speed to the breakdown.

With just five minutes left of the half, Petersfield won a scrum in the centre of the pitch in their half. A back-row pickup and pass found both halfbacks offside. From the penalty in front of the posts, Andover’s fly-half, who had an excellent game both with his kicks and defence, added to their total.
17-7.

When Petersfield returned for the second half, Seb Tuff was replaced by Cam Duffus in the 55th minute. Petersfield were playing out of their half when poor communication had their backs penalised for crossing, and a penalty was awarded. This was advanced a further ten metres as a player expressed displeasure with the decision. This improved position encouraged Andover’s number ten to successfully kick for three points.
20-7.

Next in the list of offences was a yellow card for hooker Sam Brown for what appeared to be a collective high tackle. Reduced to fourteen players, Petersfield’s struggle with accuracy and discipline would only be made more difficult. Ryan Morse replaced Oli Hunt in the 50th minute, while Harley Orr came on for Ryan Wilkie in the 60th. A tackle into touch of a Petersfield player just fifteen metres from their tryline had Andover win the ball, and their powerful number eight bulldozed his way through the defence to score.
Converted try 27-7.

With less than fifteen minutes left to play, it seemed Petersfield had too much to do to recover their position. However, after a series of plays in the bottom right-hand corner of the sloping pitch, the ball was recycled to the centre where Miles Sampson, on one of his trademark sprints, arrived to take a pass at speed and touched down under the posts for Nick Blumlein to convert.
27-14.

Petersfield threw caution to the wind in the last minutes of the game, passing the ball from right to left on their five-metre line. The final receiver, Tom Land, spotted a gap in Andover's defence, burst through, sidestepped two tacklers, stepped through another, and danced down the final twenty-five metres of the touchline to be tackled as he scored an unconverted try after a ninety-metre run.
27-19.

With added time, Petersfield's pack attempted to cross the line to score on three successive occasions, only to be held up by the determined Andover defence. The final whistle came after the third scoring attempt, denying Petersfield a losing bonus point.

Game Details | Andover 27 - 19 Petersfield (a)
Saturday 12th October

Try Scorers:

Charlie Muir
Miles Sampson
Tom Land
Kicking Success:

Nick Blumlein: 2/3 (67%)
Points Conceded:

3 Tries
3 Conversions
1 Penalty
Yellow Card:

Sam Brown

Line-up:
1. Ryan Wilkie (replaced by Harley Orr, 60')
2. Sam Brown
3. Dan Sargent
4. Oli Hunt (replaced by Ryan Morse, 50')
5. Franko Tomic
6. Nic Wilde
7. Karter Whittock
8. Liam Perkins
9. Alex Duffus
10. Nick Blumlein
11. Seb Tuff (replaced by Cam Duffus, 55')
12. Will Mathews
13. Tom Land
14. Miles Sampson
15. Charlie Muir

Petersfield 1st XV will be looking to bounce back at Penns Place next weekend, where they face old foes Farnham RFC in what promises to be a blockbuster affair. Prior to the 3pm kick off, the club will also be hosting its annual Tribute Lunch, dedicated to honouring those familiar faces we have lost over the past year.

If you would like to book a seat or a table, please email club chairman Stuart Barden for more information at: StuartBarden@bardenfm.co.uk.