A strong Ampthill team showed why they are one of the top sides in National 1, but Rosslyn Park made them fight all the way for the win that sees them remain in third place in the league.

It was Park who made the brighter start, running at Ampthill. A glorious long pass from fly half Oli Grove set up flanker Harry Hudson for a try wide on the left after only three minutes. Centre Harry Leonard added a good conversion for 7-0.

Ampthill’s giant pack was clearly going to be a factor in the match as they clawed their way back into the match, but it was the more subtle skills of fly half Lawrence Rayner that saw him ghost through to score close to the posts and give winger James Pritchard a simple conversion for 7-7 on 10 minutes.


Clean possession

Play was evenly balanced: Park tried to move the ball around quickly while Ampthill went through the phases, but the two defences were on top. It was the visitors who struck next on 25 minutes with a Pritchard penalty for 10-7. Two minutes later a difficult kick gave Leonard a chance to equalize but his attempt missed by a hair’s breadth.

It didn’t help Park’s cause that skipper Hugo Ellis had to leave the field with a cut above his right eye, but probably the decisive moment came when Amps changed the direction of attack with a quick inside pass. Park lock Adam Frampton made an instinctive attempt to intercept but was adjudged to have deliberately knocked on and harshly dispatched to the sin bin.

Playing against a reduced Park pack the strong Ampthill forward unit made hay and mauled their way to the Park line for winger Sam Baker to claim the touchdown, Pritchard converting to make the score 17-7 on 32 minutes.

Park certainly did not lie down and despite being short-handed struck back three minutes later when a pass out wide found winger Charlie Amesbury who sprinted away to score, Leonard converting for 14-17.

Just as it looked as if Park would reach the dressing room with little damage done, the final move of the half saw another massive maul from the Ampthill pack and it was the powerful figure of Tongan international hooker Aleki Lutui who touched down. Pritchard’s conversion brought the half-time whistle at 14-24.

If Park had a hill to climb, that became a mountain when a bright start to the second period by the visitors saw centre Peter Weightman finish off another Ampthill attack, Pritchard converting for 14-31 on 42 minutes.

Park continued to put their faith in running rugby but struggled to find a way past the opposition. When the door finally opened it was to a quite breathtaking try. Winger Benji Marfo fielded the ball close to his own line. The ball reached Leonard who made a searing run out of his own half and, when caught, Marfo was at his shoulder to receive the pass and sprinted over to score. Leonard nailed a really difficult conversion, but it was too little too late. The final whistle came at 21-31.

It was not the result that Park wanted or needed, but they can hold their heads high after taking very good opponents right to the wire.

A disappointed Park Head Coach Kieran Power said that it was:“Very frustrating on our behalf, silly errors and penalties cost us good field position. That resulted in our defence being heavily tested on our try line. There were some good positives from open play in the second half, but we left it too late to turn it around”.

Park: Robinson; Marfo, Henderson, Leonard, Amesbury; Grove; Crow; Nwakor, Bellamy, Lovell; Frampton, MacPherson; Macfarlane, Hudson, H Ellis.
Bench: Hughes, Wade, Ovens, Gash, Crane
Park scorers: Hudson (T), Amesbury (T), Marfo (T) Leonard (3C)

Park have no fixture over the Easter holiday and then face an away match with Champions Coventry.



Charlie Addiman

Images: David E Whittam

March 26, 2018