Fantastic Win!

Basingstoke 15 pts v Clifton 12 pts at Pack Lane 11th February 2006

THEIR exhausted bodies may have been battered and bruised, but the immense satisfaction gained from a job well done was written across the faces of the entire Basingstoke team, after their outstanding coll- ective effort, especially in defence, defeated a strong Clifton at Down Grange.
In what was a must-win match for ’Stoke as they sought to maintain their challenge for the South-West One title and prom- otion, Jim Dixon’s men stood up to be counted and refused to buckle against, at times, relentless Clifton pressure. The determination to succeed and gain revenge for the corresponding 22-0 loss back in October was clearly evident in the resolve shown in all areas of the pitch, by all ’Stoke personnel.

Unstinting tackles and uncompromising hits were made for a full 80 minutes as ’Stoke ensured Dave Lambert’s two tries and Simon Humberstone’s penalty were enough to gain the two prized league points on offer. And delighted backs-coach Martyn Humberstone said: "Over the last few weeks, we have been working very hard on our defence and when you see what’s been done in training on Tuesday and Thursday nights put into practice on a Saturday, it’s a great feeling. "Our defence was so good and I am so proud of the way they all played. "Everyone took responsibility in the game and made so many tackles. No-one can question the commitment and effort put in. "Many supporters afterwards used words like ‘awesome’ and ‘magnificent’ to describe the team’s defence and overall performance. I’m not going to disagree, it was." He added: "We have moved up to third in the league and we are still on target to go up into national rugby. We can achieve it too." A ’Stoke performance like this, in such a big game like this, firmly backed up Humberstone’s belief, for ’Stoke took the game to their Bristol visitors when able to attack, and defended with similar intensity when required. From Humberstone’s kick-off, Russell Northcote’s take and 25-metre charge set up four phases of play. It was a real signal of intent. Taking advantage of their early territorial gain, ’Stoke went ahead on eight minutes when Simon Lovegrove broke from the pack, the ball was recycled from right to left and Carl Marshall passed for winger Lambert to utilise the space and score. Simon Humberstone converted for a 7-0 lead, after which Clifton rallied, but to no avail. Humberstone missed an 18th-minute kick for three points, dragging just wide of the upright, in a brief respite as Clifton kept ’Stoke hemmed inside their own half. Dangerous full-back Robert Viol and centre Barnaby Kent were at the hub of Clifton’s best back attacks, but Lambert showed the mentality within the ’Stoke side when he made sure a two-versus-one overlap did not yield a try by hammering into winger Adam Kent to keep him out. Clifton scored on 38 minutes when second row Ben Chesney finished off his lineout claim and drove over, courtesy of a maul, but fly-half Matt Spencer missed the conversion effort, striking the post. He was, crucially, later to repeat the feat with a missed penalty in the second half, whereas Humberstone enjoyed the fortune of seeing his 30-metre penalty, on 40 minutes, hit the crossbar and bounce over to put ’Stoke 10-5 up at half-time.

But that was to be the only lucky break ’Stoke got in their victory. On 48 minutes, superb scrum-half play from the restored Jamie Fish, who made the tackle to win the ball and instantaneously turned defence into attack with a kick forward, saw Lambert chase, kick-on past winger Kent and win the race to touch-down. After surviving the previous 20 minutes of Clifton attacks, it was just what ’Stoke needed, but Clifton again hit back to force the hosts on the back foot. However, they were left to wonder what they had to do to break the ’Stoke lines as they were repeatedly denied try access – notably when Ollie Rogers scampered across to cover the last man in a four-man overlap and take him out on 79 minutes. It was stoppage time when Clifton scrum-half Ollie Sacco darted over following a five-metre scrum, and Spencer converted with the last kick of the game for a 15-12 score-line the ’Stoke fans and players greeted with a loud cheer when the referee blew for full-time.

Player-coach Dixon summed up: "I am really proud of all the guys – it was a fantastic effort and we’ve got the win we knew we had to get."

’Stoke: Simon Humberstone, Dave Lambert, Simon Buckland, Matt Lucas, Ollie Rogers, Carl Marshall, Jamie Fish, Shane Murphy, Simon Lovegrove, Kym Townsend, George Scott, Russell Northcote, Chris Williams, Simon Appleby, Jim Dixon. Not used: Mark Bushnell, Simon Crew, Darren Lillywhite.