London SE3 League
Sheppey 50 vs 5 Pulborough

With the worst Island weather conditions greeting players and spectators, the freezing cold wind, rain, and of course plenty of mud, made it hard work for both sides to show much quality in this league match. Pulborough, already relegated, came to Sheppey who were looking for a bonus point win to reinstate themselves into the 2nd promotion spot, and achieved this comfortably despite injuries and absentees in this crucial game.
Sheppey started strongly, moving the ball well through forwards and backs to test the visitors defence, and immediately showed their dominance in the set piece. After 5 minutes the first converted try was on the board, following pressure near Pulboroughs line a scrum was set and it was an easy touchdown for no. 8 Spence as the bigger pack pushed over.
5 minutes later skipper Varker benefitted from a well executed catch and drive in the 22m, as the pack worked their way near the line the hooker broke from the rolling maul to touch down and increase the scores to 12-0. As both sides struggled to contend with the worsening conditions, a multitude of knock-ons and sloppy passes stunted the game, and frustration was evident. Robinson took a good line through the 10 channel to break free, and with a clever interchange of passes with the supporting Spence, ran through to score a converted try and push the score to 19-0.
The final 20 minutes of the half will be best forgotten by Sheppey, as ill-discipline, missed tackles and a gritty phase of strong direct attacks by Pulborough enabled the Sussex team to get back into the match. A yellow card for Mills for hands in a maul?, followed by a card for Robinson for interference after a quick tap was taken 1 metre out (don’t they need to take from 5 metres?) left the Islanders defending on their own line with 13 players. A concerted effort and aggressive defence kept the visitors out, stand-out efforts in particular by McKinnell, Adams and Willis, but in the last play of the half the pressure and player advantage finally told and a deserved try was scored in the left corner to bring the scores back to 19-5 at half-time.
After an honest self-appraisal by the players during the break, a rejuvenated Sheppey appeared for the 2nd 40 minutes. With the first set of phases driving the visitors back, Dan Adams capped a man of the match performance with a strong break through the defence to score by the posts for a converted try, and the important bonus point was secured.
Just as the full 15 players had been restored, a repeat infringement from Spence saw him with a 10 minute breather courtesy of the ref, and Sheppey back to 14 men. After 50 minutes a penalty was opted for to keep the scoreboard rolling to 29-5. From the kick-off a maul saw the islanders on the move again, and in-form flanker Mills broke from the half way line to sprint down the wing, and with a shimmy of the hips beat both wing and full-back to score under the posts.
Fly-half Wardzynski was next to touch down, taking advantage of an unseen spill danced his way through the defence to the line for a try, and his conversion was part of a personal 20 point haul from the game. The final score was courtesy of winger Bain, who had tested the defence several times coming inside looking for work, and was finally rewarded for his efforts with a good straight line through midfield to score by the uprights.
A game dictated by poor conditions, Sheppey will see it as job done taking the 5 league points, although still a lot of areas in need of improvement. For Pulborough a brave effort from a team that will be missed from the league, a more welcoming club hard to find at this level. We wish them well next season and a quick return to London SE3.