Dramatic miss denies Greens last minute win

Scunthorpe RUFC 32 Syston 32

TO SAY that the Greens gave blood, sweat and tears to snatch this draw from the jaws of defeat would, for once, be anything but a tired old cliche.

And but for a lick of paint, that draw could have so easily been a victory for Scunthorpe instead.

This game had it all; drama, violence, controversy and no less than nine tries from what had been expected to be an incredibly close top-of-the-table encounter.

The build-up to the big game seemed to get to the Greens in the first half, the pressure of knowing victory would all but seal promotion seemingly overwhelming them.

They allowed their pumped-up rivals to race into what looked like an unassailable 20-3 lead inside the opening 16 minutes.

A sloppy start from the Greens saw Syston get the ball through hands early and spread the ball to winger Charlie Allan.

He got his head down and drove over in the corner for the opening try after just three minutes.

The conversion was missed to soften the blow slightly and then Mark Woollard kicked a penalty for Scunthorpe to bring the score to 5-3 within a few minutes.

The visitors were not knocked out of their stride though and they continued to dictate play, nudging 8-3 ahead with a classic drop goal move that ended with the ball sailing between the posts..

From the restart Scunthorpe's talismanic Kiwi winger Woody Vaimoso caught the ball and charged forward but was hauled down by a gaggle of Syston runners.

Vaimoso went to try his luck again from a Syston kick forward shortly after, but he made a hash of his catch and the visitors stole the ball.

More quick passing saw the ball spread through the Syston backs and flanker Wayne Brookes charged through powerfully to score under the posts.

The conversion was added by the Leicestershire side's kicker Warren Coles and before Scunthorpe knew what had hit them they were 15-3 down.

The early onslaught from their title challengers had not yet finished however.

A rolling maul inside the Greens' 22 saw hooker Luke Coltman make a successful dart for the line and he went over in the corner for Syston's third try inside 16 minutes.

Coltman almost convulsed in delight as he rose to his feet, clenching his fists and letting out a huge roar that encapsulated the fantastic attitude that his side had arrived at Heslam Park with.

The Greens are no mugs though and decided it was about time they showed their rivals why they were sitting pretty at the top of the table.

The cogs started to splutter into action in the Scunthorpe engine room, with scrum-half Dan McLean dictating the pace of the game thanks to some hard work from the forwards.

Just as the anxious home crowd were beginning to wonder if Syston had already wrapped up the win, their team hit back.

Skipper Tom Foster propelled his side forward in the centre, spun a pass out to full-back Chris Neal who went on a fantastic jinking run past four players, and eluding his opposite number to crash over the line.

Woollard made the simple conversion to bring the arrears down to 20-10 and the half-time whistle went just as the Greens were starting to get up a head of steam.

Scunthorpe regrouped and presumably had a rocket put up them by head coach Tim Robinson during the break as they came out a different side for the second half.

Five minutes into the half they brought the score back to 20-17.

Valiant work from Lewis Jones to not lose the ball when taking a big hit on the right saw his team-mates switch possession across to Vaimoso who released Neal to again show his blistering pace and dive over the line.

Woollard converted and it looked like the comeback was on.

The fly-half obviously felt he had found the rhythm that had sent him to the top of Midlands One East's top-point-scoring charts and decided to kick for goal from a penalty just inside the Syston half.

His effort went just wide and kept the visitors' three-point lead intact.

That soon became a 10-point lead again though as Coles scuttled over and converted his own try to go 27-17 ahead.

Woollard was not to be outshone though and just after the hour mark he tried with another penalty attempt from just inside the Syston half, and this time it flew just inside the posts to make the score 20-27.

A fight broke out after a Syston player held Vaimoso to the floor and Coltman was sent to the bin for 10 minutes for his part in the fracas.

With their opponents down to 14 men it seemed an ideal chance for the Greens to steal ahead.

But Syston put together a fantastic drive for near enough the length of the Greens' 22 and Brookes crashed over to increase their lead to 32-20.

Home fans and players were left in disbelief as the genuine prospect of a first home defeat of the season began to dawn.

But replacement prop Paul Sewell took a huge hit to open space for the backs and centre James Wade broke through the Syston line and dived over to score.

Woollard kicked a fantastic conversion from just inside the far left touchline to make it 32-27 and with just five minutes remaining, the home crowd roared their team forward for one final effort.

Those fans were not to be denied as their side looked to have stolen the win when Neal sprinted down the left and chipped through into space.

Captain Foster charged after the ball and managed to touch down to level the score at 32-32.

Woollard was then left with a reasonably simple conversion 10 yards left of the post to surely seal victory.

But, unbelievably, the 18-year-old kicker clipped the post and the ball dropped the wrong side of the bar as a phenomenal comeback was halted with the scores level.

It was an incredible grandstand finish to a game that truly lived up to it's pre-match billing and Scunthorpe could walk away delighted to have avoided defeat.

The result leaves the Midlands One East title battle still open, but with the Greens still very much in the driving seat.

An upset Woollard was left kicking himself at full-time but, hopefully, the 200-plus points he has already kicked so well this campaign will mean the one he missed on Saturday will not prove to be one that has cost the Greens promotion.

With just five games remaining, their hopes are still so rosy.