Match Report: St Andrews beats Kingswood 42-28

By Jon Leiper (Kingswood)

Kingswood and St Andrews once again served up a thriller on City Lords in their annual derby match. Both sides committed themselves to playing positive, attacking rugby, and this resulted in a match that was full of thrilling moments. In a game very much of two halves, ultimately it was College who won the match, 42-28. However this score line did not truly reflect the events on the field.

Kingswood started slowly, and their set piece struggled to find any cohesion. Early tightheads by College allowed them to build pressure on the home team. Kingswood also lost early lineouts (a problem that was to haunt Kingswood throughout the match), and looked very nervous for the first 10 minutes. College received a string of early penalties, but good defence by Kingswood held them at bay, and eventually they opted for the penalty at goal – which they converted. The penalty seemed to settle Kingswood, and they started to run the ball at College. They were rewarded with a penalty on the College 10m line, which Cameron Hertz converted. From the kickoff, College failed to release the ball and were penalised close to the Kingswood 10m line. Hertz lined up the penalty, and struck a magnificent 57m kick to take Kingswood into the lead. Kingswood had the bit between their teeth, and from the kickoff Davron Cameron chipped ahead, gathered and released Hertz to score close to the poles. He converted his try and Kingswood were out to a 13-3 lead. College looked rattled, and Kingswood continued to press them. A penalty was kicked deep into the College 22, and from the lineout Jonathan Amadi was on hand to scoop up a misplaced pass and release Ezra Mager, who dived over in the corner. Hertz missed the conversion from wide out, but Kingswood were out to an 18-3 lead. The remainder of the half was a see-saw battle between the two sides. Kingswood used the boot intelligently to push College back, and the College tight five began to assert their dominance over Kingswood. College were rewarded with a try shortly before half time. Their forwards drove it up repeatedly before releasing to the backs. Kingswood were caught with too few numbers, and College sneaked in at the corner. The conversion was wide, and Kingswood went into half time 18-8 to the good.

College started the second half positively. They were held up short after a break down the wing. However they used their forwards to good effect and crashed over from the ruck. With the conversion going over, the game was set up for a thrilling second half. College again were the side to seize the initiative. Kingswood began to miss vital tackles in the midfield, and College broke through. A desperation tackle by Ezra Mager halted what seemed like a certain try for College. The referee penalised Mager for not rolling away, and also gave him a yellow card. This was one of the key turning points in the match. From the penalty, College opted to go for the lineout, and managed to drive over for a fine forward try. The conversion was wide, but it was clear that the momentum was with the boys in blue. Kingswood broke and College were penalised on their 22m line. Hertz (who had an outstanding day with the boot) managed to convert the penalty to restore Kingswood’s lead. From this point, however, lapses in concentration were to cost Kingswood dearly. From the kickoff, College were penalised just outside the Kingswood 22. Kingswood tapped the penalty but then cleared directly into touch. Play was brought back for a College lineout, and the spread the ball wide to make use of their numerical advantage and scored in the corner. Kingswood found themselves playing more and more rugby in their half as pressure from the College pack started to tell. After a period of concerted pressure by College, Kingswood were rewarded with a scrum. Unfortunately the ball was passed over the dead ball line. From the resulting scrum to College, the forwards drove it up and went over for a well-deserved try, which was converted to make the score 32-21. Kingswood, however, were not finished. College were driven back by a series of penalties, and Kingswood managed to set up a lineout on the St Andrews 22m line. A magnificent drive by the Kingswood pack was rewarded by a try to Jeff Theron, which was duly converted by Cameron Hertz. With three minutes left on the clock, the game was wide open. Kingswood collected well from the restart and ran the ball. Hertz looked for a chip over the top to release Jonathan Amadi, but the ball deflected off the College defence. Unfortunately it fell straight to a College support runner, who cantered over from the 22 – a cruel blow for the home side. The ethos of the game was probably best summed up by the final sequence of play. The hooter had gone, but both sides carried on playing, refusing to kick the ball dead. College were eventually rewarded for their enterprise with a try in the corner. The conversion was wide, making the final score 42-28.

Kingswood will again look back over the game and rue certain decisions that were made. The yellow card to Mager was a decisive turning point in the game. While credit must be given to College for using their numerical advantage intelligently, the two tries that they scored wiped out Kingswood’s advantage, and also restored their confidence. Two lapses in concentration in defence were also punished severely, with both leading to opportunities that were accepted by College. Overall though, both sides need to be congratulated on the way in which the game was played.