Hove ‘wander’ past Thanet

Hove welcomed travelling Thanet on Saturday, following a tough loss to Old Colfeians the weekend prior. Hove were intent on making amends, but knew that the Kent side would provide a physical contest. Any hopes of a dry, sunny day of rugby were quickly quashed just before kick-off as the heavens opened and a dreary afternoon set in. Thankfully however, there is no pathetic fallacy in this report, as despite the weather, both teams tried to play expansive running rugby.

Hove attacked towards the clubhouse and from the kick-off had an extended period of possession. The first breakthrough came after 7 minutes, where young Tyler (Yeehah!) Hooper managed to finish off a well worked try to break the deadlock. Credit must be given to the Thanet defence who were dogged all afternoon. Hove have been lucky to maintain some level of consistency in selection over the last few weeks, however it was a fresh faced Inside Centre that started particularly strongly. Ash Parker (brother of winger Alex Parker) and widely considered to be the better looking brother and an all-round better bloke, had a terrific first half. Dubbed the Bastareaud of his generation, his hard hitting lines helped create gaps out wide for the slower and less attractive brother to exploit.

Some more resolute defending kept the score the same, until a catch and drive allowed Martin Macdonald to dot down for Hove’s second. A third quickly followed suit, when a Thanet mistake allowed Casanova to kick through and complete a three on two, where another Hove youth product, Toby Brown showed a turn of pace to get to the line. Just before half-time, Hove managed to add a fourth when Charlie Watts exploited a mix-up in the Thanet defence and galloping through, threw a lovely floated pass to Phil Dugard who managed to waddle in to the corner. Half-time 26-0.

Hove started the second half promisingly, and in spite of the rain, were intent on playing running rugby. A well worked strike move broke the Thanet line, and a few phases later, Alex Parker stepped inside, created a 2v1 and popped it to the grateful Casanova who shuffled his way over for a well worked try. Parker himself then scored a further two tries, before committing the heinous crime of “hat-trick avoidance”, where he dropped the ball despite being clean through! Naturally, this earned him the “Dick of the Day” nomination. Thankfully however, Parker did eventually get his hat-trick when he collected a nicely weighted cross-field kick to dot down in the corner (although it must be mentioned we are still awaiting the customary hat-trick jug of beer…). All in all, a great day for the Parker family!

The final score finished 50-0, and whilst their attacking rugby was impressive, keeping a physical Thanet side scoreless will please the coaches more. Thank you to Thanet for making the long journey down the coast, and we look forward to the reverse fixture next year. Next weekend Hove take on Brighton in a local derby cup fixture, which should be a thriller!