South West One

South West One
Coney Hill 3 v Bracknell 10 – Game abandoned after 55 minutes.
By Henry La

Match Photos at http://www.solidphotos.com/main.php?g2_itemId=16723

Rugby is without doubt a dangerous game but it is rare to have an accident occur which is so serious that the delay for on field treatment ultimately results in the abandonment of the match. This happened to Bracknell at Coney Hill as this much awaited clash was prematurely curtailed after 55 minutes by Referee Claire Daniels who decided the match could not continue due to the failing light.
The accident happened when Coney’s excellent speedy winger Navaro Codlin was carrying the ball deep into the Bracknell and was tackled by Bracknell’s outside centre Ollie Jones. Codlin fell to the ground and appeared to have breathing problems; Referee Daniels quickly halted the game and medical staff from both teams worked on Codlin until a paramedic arrived.
As the medical work took over 30 minutes, with 25 minutes left of the game and the light starting to fade referee Daniels had no option but to call the game off. She informed the Times that, “We are not going to get the remainder of the game played with the light and player safety is most important.”
Bracknell Player/Coach Chris Sheasby was clearly disappointed that the match had to be abandoned as he felt that it would have been a victory for Bracknell but, he was also critical of the way his team had played after going into a 10-0 lead. He said, “I was disappointed after the way we played in first 15 minutes when our plans worked. We smashed them, put them on the back foot and got into a 10-0 lead in the first 10 minutes; then we went off the boil.
Our problems included trying quick tap penalties, then we gave away penalties and our offloads were poor. We then allowed them to play the game how they wanted to by niggling at us and getting under our skin resulting in us having two people sin binned.
How can the referee give that one to Joe (Shelton) when they threw the first punch but, he must learn how to deal with situations like that? All he needs to do is cling onto the person until the ref. breaks them up then he should just walk away.”
The Coney Hill ground is interesting because being located on a school playing field, it lacks any atmosphere but the home team tend to make up for this in a style of play unique to themselves. Any team visiting this Gloucester team can be guaranteed to experience the local interpretation of the rugby of rugby so it is essential to have a referee, unassisted from the touch judges, who is aware of this. That notwithstanding, it is up to the visitors to be smart enough to avoid unnecessary conflict should the rules be bent.
Kicking off into a swirling wind Bracknell soon put pressure on the home team and forced them deep into their territory. It only took two minutes for a flowing back row move to see Nick Shears score his forth try in two weeks after a forceful run at the Coney Hill defence. Nowak kicked the conversion and Bracknell led by 7-0.
Coney Hill’s attacks were quickly snuffed out as the visitors reaped the benefits of being quick and legal at the breakdown stages, a problem that they have been having during the season. It therefore wasn’t long before Coney Hill lost patience and transgressed after failing to release the ball at another break down when. So, on 10 minutes Nowak, slotted over a penalty in front of the posts to give Bracknell a well deserved 10-0 lead.
Unfortunately Bracknell then started to lose their concentration by infringing handing the ever opportunistic home team chances to make runs deep into the Bracknell half. Fortunately due to careless mistakes, Coney Hill was not able to take advantage of these opportunities but it was obvious that if their speedy winger Codlin was given the ball he had the skills to break through the visitors defensive line.
As the half progressed, Bracknell also allowed the home team’s dubious tactics to prosper with infringements away from the referee’s eye that should have been ignored but were distracting the Bracknell player’s concentration.
After 20 minutes Bracknell were penalised in front of their posts. The home team fly half Rory Baker converted, narrowing the visitors lead to 3-10. That was to be the half time score though it would have been different if, in the later stages of the first half, Bracknell’s poor ball handling prevented two golden try opportunities plus, Ben Nowak missed with two long range penalty attempts when he should have taken the simpler option of a kick to touch and a line out.
The second half was only memorable because of the Codrin’s injury and just before the match was halted, three yellow cards were given within the space of two minutes. The first two cards were the result of punches being exchanges by Coney’s Adam Petigrew and Bracknell’s hooker Joe Shelton. The third card seemed harsh as Bracknell’s prop Andy Van Zyl knocked on after trying to intercept a pass. It was on the next play that the injury occurred and the match was stopped.
Skipper Ben Nowak was happy with the team’s early play but felt, “There were times when our decision making was questionable but I felt we did well in the first half and happy that we turned around 10-3 up. They (Coney Hill) played as we expected and I’m not too worried they got back into the game as teams like that are likely to do just that but I had terrific confidence in our defence. Despite being a player down I never thought we could be defeated.”
Asked about his hat trick of missed penalties, Nowak said that, “I probably made the wrong decision for two of them because the wind was swirling more than I thought but I’d still back myself to normally get them.”
Nowak was asked about this Saturday’s visitors Old Patesians to Lily Hill after their home win against former league leaders Redingensians on Saturday. He said, “We’ll be ready for them, they know how to play on their sloping pitch so beating Redingensians wasn’t a surprise but I know we can beat them, whether at Bracknell or there. “
In fact it is said at sport that, the characteristic of any good team is to do the simple things very well. To this end, Bracknell has the meanest defence in the league and if they can continue to find their attacking potential then they will be able to contest for the leadership, despite early setbacks so far this season.
Subsequent to the match the Coney Hill management have paid tribute to the Bracknell physiotherapist Adrian Watkins for his contribution in stabilising Codlin just after the impact. The Times has been advised that Codlin was discharged from hospital on Saturday evening with no bones broken but he has a badly bruised windpipe.

*** Report courtesy of the Bracknell Times