| Reading effectively lost this game in the first twenty minutes as the
home side, bottom of the South West Division One table and without a win before this
game, ran up a 17-0 lead. During this time Reading made basic errors, giving the ball
away and not making their first up tackles count. The Bournemouth backs had a field
day as they found the gaps to carve out tries for scrum half Hardcastle, flanker
Cawley and hooker Ulu.
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| Reading were just not in the game and things looked even more ominous as
Billy Bragg’s kick from his 22 was half charged down. As it happened this turned out
to be to Reading’s fortune as a Reading forward who would otherwise have been
off-side was able to catch the ball and put winger Duncan Mollison away for a 60
yard run to the line for a try which Andrew Tweedie converted. |
| Five minutes later, however, a stray Reading kick was fielded by
Bournemouth winger James Flynn and he ran it back to set up another try for Cawley.
Centre Tim Gray slotted his second conversion and the home side were comfortably
ahead at 24-7 with just half an hour gone. |
| With Number 8 Scott Heirene collecting his second yellow card in two
matches Reading were not well placed but they managed to threaten as Mollison
chipped ahead but was beaten to the touch down by a Bournemouth hand. Right on
half time Andy Tweedie kicked a good penalty but nine minutes into the second
period the home team extended their lead when a lineout catch and drive led to
a try for number 8 Hughes, converted by Gray. |
| Mollison was then hauled back for a forward pass when he was well clear
and with Bournemouth captain Cawley yellow carded Reading drove a succession of five
metre scrums before referee Craig Smith lost patience with the Bournemouth defence
and awarded Reading a penalty try, converted by Tweedie. |
| That ended the scoring but not the action as Sean Kenneally was given a yellow card and Cawley his second yellow,
making it a red, for a late tackle on Alex Wallace. |
| After the game assistant coach Jason Dance said “our skills let us down in the first half, we made too many mistakes.”
Alastair McHarg agreed. “We scrummaged well but the first half performance was the
worst I have seen for some time. You still have time to turn things around though.” |
| Things have not been easy, however. Injuries, unavailabilities, army postings abroad and, in one case, a retirement have
robbed Reading of its back division. Every back on Saturday was, by choice, a half
back – either a scrum half, fly half or both. Consequently most of them were having to
play out of position and, in the circumstances they did well. |
| READING: Simon Dyson; Duncan Mollison, Alex Wallace, Andy Tweedie,
Dai Birkby; Billy Bragg, Tom Goodhew; Axel Rees (Justin Coleman, 60 mins),
Richard Pryor, Andrew Grierson, Gary McLaughlin (Dan Phillips, 60 mins),
Sean Kenneally, Matt Davies, Dave Carey (Tim Laverye, 75 mins), Scott Heirene |
| Ted Goodhew
|