Dorset & Wilts Division 1 Playoff
Minety 1st XV 7pts - Bridport 1st XV 0pts
Minety
finished their season on a high, beating Bridport in the playoff for promotion
to Southern Counties. In the tightest of games, it was only determined tackling
by the whole team that kept Minety in the hunt until a try by winger Ryan
Dowling finally saw them through.
Victims not only of the usual
litany of injuries but also of absences of key young players due to cricketing
obligations, Minety were forced to draw deep on their reserve of former
first-team players who have been playing for the seconds in recent seasons. As
it worked out, the recalls not only excelled themselves, but also brought the
very best out of the younger players around them.
This was just as well, as they were
up against committed opponents with a speedy three-quarter line and a passionate
hunger for promotion in what skipper Martin Coe afterwards described as the
toughest game Minety had played all season.
Bridport pressed hard from the off
and it wasn’t long before they had their opponents penned back on their own
line. Their cause was severely dented, though, when one of their props broke his
leg. The player concerned was a key impact runner who had scored many tries in
previous games.
Minety survived the initial
onslaught and gradually came into their own. Twice they crossed their opponents’
line only to have apparent scores disallowed.
With hooker Andy Moran throwing in
perfectly to the lineouts and the rest of the front five in top form, the home
side dominated up front but the visitors looked dangerous every time they moved
the ball out wide. Flyhalf Tim 
Vaughan played a masterful game for Minety, as
did centre Gareth Dyer, who tackled tirelessly all afternoon. The back-row were
also outstanding both in defence and with the ball in hand. Charlie Gawthropp
and Max Smith excelled themselves, while James Smith put on an astonishingly
skilled and astute display on his belated return to first team
rugby.
After a typically gutsy
performance, Minety scrumhalf Tom Fitzcharles was forced to leave the field with
a groin strain. His place was taken by the experienced Andy Brown, who calmly
steered his pack through the tense final 30
minutes.
The breakthrough eventually came
for Minety when Bridport dropped a pass just inside their own half. Before
anyone else could react, Dowling was through on the ball, scooping it up and
sprinting for the line. He had 40 metres to run but no one could stop
him.
The successful conversion left
Minety with a seven-point lead and 20 minutes left in which to defend it.
Bridport gave it their all, but they couldn’t break their opponents’ steely grip
on the game and it will be Minety who go up to Southern Counties next
season.
“This
was a great end to a fantastic season,” commented Coe after the game. “Competing
in Southern Counties again will be a huge challenge but we’re looking forward to
it and by the way they’ve played today, the guys have shown that they’re
certainly up for it.”