Oh so close!

Basingstoke 20 pts v Canterbury 31 pts

It was a case of Canterbury wails for Jim Dixon’s Basingstoke side as their three-match winning run was ended by visitors who were fortunate to emerge triumphant at Down Grange on Saturday. ’Stoke were left to rue missed opportunities with the boot – 14 points went awry – two baffling sin-binnings and a foiled last-ditch attack that almost yielded a game winning try. Trailing 20-24 and down to 14 men, following Dixon’s bizarre yellow card from official Steve Walters for an apparent ‘professional foul’, there were just minutes left to salvage the match as ‘Stoke went for a match-winning score. The home side pushed up field to the far left corner with some strong rucking and running, recycled the ball back and to the right, and as space opened up with Canterbury’s defence stretched, a try looked on. But, with the try line in sight, Simon Appleby’s pass to Phil Perkins was intercepted by Eoin Stewart, who ran the length of the pitch unchallenged to seal Canterbury’s win. The outcome of that last attack and the end result was harsh on ’Stoke, who left the field knowing fourth-place Canterbury’s scalp should have been taken.
Dixon said: "It was a really solid performance from the guys and they are all very disappointed not to have got a result. "I think we took the majority of the chances we had but couldn’t quite close out the game. The 14 missed points was certainly a contributory factor to the loss. "It’s very frustrating, because we knew Canterbury were there for the taking. But we weren’t helped by the two yellow cards. "It’s a shame our winning run has ended, but this is another lesson to learn. Sometimes you have to play the referee instead of the game plan you want to play. "There are things we need to work on – our lineout and scrum was not at its best – but the attitude in the dressing room afterwards tells me that they will learn from today and put things right in our next game." Confident after their unbeaten January, ’Stoke started brightly and had the chance to open up an early lead, but fly-half Seb Berti failed to convert penalties in the first and seventh minutes. It was impressive centre Vincent Feausi who gave ’Stoke their opening points with a fine try through a classic set of play, sweeping from left to right across the pitch. On the halfway line, Russell Northcote took the lineout ball, which was subsequently passed through the hands of Darren Lillywhite, Dixon, adding his bulk to the back-line, Dan Rees and finally Feausi, who cut inside to score. Full-back Simon Humberstone, an excellent performer in defence and attack, dragged the kick wide. Canterbury hit back through pacey winger Jeremy Walmsley, who took on David Byett with ease to out-sprint him and score. Full-back Jose Pereira added the two points. Berti’s 30th minute drop goal restored ’Stoke’s advantage, which outside centre Wayne Mommsen annulled when he scored four minutes later. Pereira missed the conversion, while teenager Humberstone’s injury time penalty also fell the wrong side of the posts. But the 17-year-old made amends at the start of the second half, scoring and converting his own try to give ’Stoke a 15-12 lead. Following a spell of pressure, big prop Dave Weston crashed over to put Canterbury 15-17 up, and shortly afterwards a furious Appleby was shown a yellow card for allegedly pulling down a maul.
As the game ebbed and flowed, a wonderful 40-metre burst from Dixon set up a ’Stoke attack that Humberstone supported well, but his foot was just shoved into touch by a desperate Walmsley as he was rounded. Pereira missed another penalty with an awful grubber kick, before ’Stoke, back to full strength with Appleby’s return, improved territory and possession. On one attack, Berti’s delightful low stab enabled Byett to stretch his legs and grab a try, but Humberstone missed the difficult conversion effort on the far edge of the 15m line, leaving ‘Stoke 20-17 in the lead. Unfortunately, Dixon’s controversial sin-binning, when he had made the tackle, got to his feet and was therefore legitimately entitled to go for the free ball, put his team at a disadvantage. Canterbury made the most of the one-man advantage and scored through scrum-half Danny Weigh, after he charged around the blind-side of a five-metre scrum. Pereira converted. Then came ’Stoke’s final push for glory, but it was to be frustrated, leaving Dixon to reflect: "Anyone who watched the game would say we were the better side, and we were up against tougher opposition than in recent weeks. "You could see the improvements we’ve made, but Canterbury also showed us where we need to look at things ahead of the Hampshire Cup semi-final on Saturday and future London one matches."

Basingstoke: Simon Humberstone (Ian Calder 77 mins), Simon Buckland, Vincent Feausi, Elimon Chimbima, Dave Byett, Seb Berti, Darren Lillywhite; Phil Perkins, Pete Maxwell, Roberto Bussati, Andy Wilson, Russell Northcote, Simon Appleby, Dan Rees (Tom Northcote 70 mins), Jim Dixon. Not used: Matt Evans.

link to RFU site