26/3/2008

Sport

Rugby - Esher secure place in National One

Esher                                  21
Pertemps Bees                17

ESHER skipper Duncan Cormack hailed his battling troops after a magnificent defensive display secured Esher’s National One status for a second campaign.

The Esher skipper admitted he was proud of his side after they completed the double over Pertemps Bees to secure a nailbiting 10th league win.

But the Surrey side had to withstand a 40-minute second-half barrage against the driving wind and snow to complete an unlikely victory.

Prop Cormack admitted: “I’m hugely proud of the guys. The pack just put down a marker that we want to be in National One and it’s been a really good year.

“You can win it pretty but when the hail and sleet are coming down, that shows that we have a pack that can mix it in National One.

“That win is tremendously satisfying and I think that cements us in the league for next year so that’s a huge weight lifted off – off Mike Schmid’s shoulders more than anything.”

Esher lead 21-12 at half-time but the Bees cut the gap to four points with a third try three minutes after the restart.

The visitors passed up four kickable penalty opportunities and also blew a glorious try-scoring chance with minutes to go when Reece Spee dropped the ball over the line.

But Cormack added: “You make your own luck in this game. You win a lot of games by taking your points. There’s nothing certain and they kept kicking it into the corner.

“But this was a great effort from one to 15. The short tight play was excellent and we ground out the win.

“If you don’t have a defence in this league you have no chance. Mark Butterworth did a great job while Paul Barker was looking back to his best and was outstanding.”

Head coach Mike Schmid said: “We gave away a silly try at the start of the second half which was very disappointing.

“But the character, passion and commitment of the guys playing into a gale force wind and snow in the second half was immense.

“That’s what I asked for at half-time and we got it. They only had that one clear opportunity when he dropped it and that shows unbelievable character from the boys and as a coach that’s all you can ask for.”

Esher made an impressive start with a third-minute try from centre Bevon Armitage after Matt Moore had secured a turnover, Neil Hallett converting.

But sloppy defence allowed the Bees to ease into a 12-7 lead with tries from Spee and James Ashton.

Esher failed to take advantage of the strong wind until the 36th minute when they finally put some phases together and Hallett cut through.

It was hardly vintage stuff from Esher but they snatched a crucial third try just before the break

Dave Slemen’s long kick resulted in a home lineout and Cormack was driven over following a catch and drive, Hallett adding a third conversion.

The Bees started the second half strongly and grabbed their third try through Cameron Mitchell after poor defending allowed scrum-half Nicky Griffiths to break clear.

That signalled the start of almost constant Bees pressure as Esher were pinned into their own 22.

But the pack produced an awesome defence display and perhaps deserved their stroke of luck when Spee knocked on what would have been the winning score.

First printed in: News & Mail Series