Men's 1st XV
Matches
Sat 09 Nov 2019  ·  London 2 South East
Hove Rugby Club
Men's 1st XV
Tries: G Patton (2), R Pavlides (2), A ParkerConversions: A Parker (5)Penalties: A Parker
36
7
Dover
Hove brave wet conditions  for dominant win.

Hove brave wet conditions for dominant win.

Martin Macdonald11 Nov 2019 - 17:51
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By Sam Whiting

Hove were fortunate to name a side with minimal changes from their last minute win away at Gravesend a fortnight ago. Ade Shergold replaced his mentor Ryan Storer in the starting XV with Ryan dropping to the bench to ease his AC joint from performing too may ‘chest to floors’. Ben Anderson came into the back row after his phone needed charging allowing himself an 80 minute break from posting Instagram stories of himself in the gym. Carles and Rene (I think we can name him in the match report this week?) graced us with their presence after their 15th and 18th holidays of the year.
In monsoon conditions that didn’t let up for the 80 minutes Hove performed the basics well and when needed kicked long playing rugby in the right areas of the pitch. An early Al Parker penalty gave Hove a 3-0 lead, which would not be relinquished for the entirety of the game. Smart work down the short side by Dover almost led to a try for the visitors but the greasy ball evaded the would be supporter and Hove survived. Skipper Phil Dugard (keeping his fists to himself this week other than the pump he gave to the boys after his misses left the club giving him a pass for the evening) was using his boot astutely turning Dover and keeping Hove in the right areas. Good phases from the forwards allowed the backs to exploit a 4 on 3 and Guy Patton finished smartly in the corner celebrating with all the emotion of a street performer on Las Ramblas. Al Parker knocked over the touchline conversion with ease as Hove stretched their lead.
With Dover playing a simple tight game to adhere to the conditions, any one off runners were met by Hove’s tough tackling pack led by Ben Anderson and Tyler ‘Rae’ Hooper. With Dover struggling to make ground in the tight, they opted to try and go around Hove, however great line speed from THE JOE BURROWS and Sambo in the midfield forced handling errors. A midfield scrum (dominated by the Hove tight 5 all afternoon) led to Hove’s second try again through Guy Patton (try celebration as above). Parker’s kick held up in the wind this time but Hove had a commanding lead of 15-0.
The rest of the first half was very attritional with both sides coughing up possession. A penalty was kicked to the corner and the Hove eight went to work, however were stopped just short. ‘Pick and Goes’ by the pack looked to end in a try for Ian Saunders, however with the referee reviewing the grounding realised that he was 2 yards short. The referee awarded Dover with a penalty for holding on, leading to all of Hove’s senior players turning to each other in agreement that this was ‘Dick of the Day’ material.
Hove made their way to the sheds at HT and returned sporting a changed strip from the ‘DLB’ era (probably owed to the Essex Uni team….) however after 5 minutes it was tough to make out a Dover player from a Hove one. Hove emptied their bench with Storer, Rene (I’m sure we can mention him?) and Wattsy entering the fray. Phil Dugard was again keeping Hove in the right areas as they looked to turn the screw. More good line speed from Hove forced a Dover error under their own sticks and the Cypriot poacher that is Pavlides (Had confirmation we can mention him!) toed on the loose ball for Hove’s third. Parker knocked over the extras 22-0. It wasn’t look before Hove had the bonus point try as a Phil Dugard bomb was spilled by the Dover 15 and as Sambo collected the loose ball he made space for Rene (No issues mentioning him) to canter in. Parker again was true with the extras 29-0.
With the result looking beyond Dover, they began to put their best period of the game together. Strong Hove defence forced back the Dover forwards with Hove determined to register their first shut out of the season. With conditions deteriorating, the Dover 9 managed to scoot through and slide the remaining 4 yards to the try line under the posts. The obligatory extras were made 22-7. With time running out, Hove continued to force Dover handling errors. The scrum again a cornerstone to Hove’s victory provided the necessary platform for Parker to get on the score sheet and knock over the extras after the ‘gong’.
Final Score 36-7.
Hove can be mighty pleased with that performance in miserable conditions. The forwards worked tirelessly for 80 minutes, the scrum provided a great platform and the lineout delivered a great source of turnover ball. Line speed from the backs forced errors and the back three capitalised on the hard work of those inside them to cross for all 5 tries.
With wins for the Seconds and Beef, it was a clean sweep for the men’s senior sides on Saturday for the first time this season.
Hove still a point adrift of Haywards Heath in 2nd travel to Old Colfs who are hot on their heels in 3rd next weekend which will no doubt provide the team with their sternest test of the season so far. Chris Knott is said to be bringing his autograph book.

Match details

Match date

Sat 09 Nov 2019

Kickoff

TBC

Competition

London 2 South East

League position

2
Hove
10
Dover
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Senior Mens Sponsor - Apex Group
Pitch & Training Kit Sponsor - Baxter & Hanks
Club Sponsor - Friends of Hove RFC
Club Sponsor - Galloways
Supplement Partner - HIGH5 Sports Nutrition
Gold Partner - T Reeve & Son LTD
Club Partner - Uncle Sams