CORNWALL & DEVON LEAGUE

Wellington 17 Liskeard-Looe 3

ON a horrible wet and windy day Liskeard-Looe made the long trip to Wellington on Saturday for a game that was played in torrential rain and a very stiff breeze. Despite the conditions, both sides attempted to play open rugby and were evenly matched. Not surprisingly many of the moves ended in handling errors and much rucking and mauling. Neither side really had the upper hand, but with the back row of Ali Hill, Tim Jackman and Rob Andrew making runs from close in, after 35 minutes Lions took a just-about deserved lead when they were awarded a penalty which full back Marcus Hill converted. Wellington struck back on the stroke of half time when left wing R Porter finished off a Wellington break with the ball going out through the threes. The second half opened in similar vein. Liskeard-Looe were taking good line out ball and their fair share at the scrums. This enabled them to run at Wellington, but much of the good work was undone at the rucks, where they failed to retain possession. This was at times due to the ball carrier getting himself isolated and at others to a lack of communication between players. Wellington increased their lead midway through the half when right wing T Atkinson completed a fluid three-quarter movement for a nice try which M Parsons converted. The game was far from over. Liskeard-Looe once again came back at their opponents and several times made good ground up to the 22-metre line, only to loose possession and allow Wellington to put in clearance kicks made better by a following wind. Late in the half Wellington put the result beyond doubt when Atkinson ran in his second try. This was without doubt a lost opportunity for Liskeard-Looe to pick up away points. They displayed a worrying lack of cohesion resulting in the loss of second and third phase possession. Even from the touch line it was obvious that players were not talking to each other, the back-up was sometimes late in arriving and what should have been promising scoring positions were lost. Though the conditions were appalling, this applied to both sides. Liskeard-Looe have the individual skills and team ability to beat Wellington and several other sides to whom they have lost. Winable games have got away and this will ultimately make league survival more difficult than it should be. Players desperately need to communicate with their fellows, be more aware and better disciplined. It is obvious that the talent and potential to do well is there but it needs to be co-ordinated and concentrated for those couple of hours every Saturday. On the plus side, two Liskeard-Looe line outs worked particularly well on Saturday. The pack combined to allow Adam Driver and Ian Goldsmith to take their own ball and either steal or spoil Wellington's attempts. Outside of the pack, there was a willingness to run with the ball. There were flashes of good open rugby from Lester Hannah, Andy Shear and Dan Goodwin, all of which linked well with half backs Rob Vivian and Gareth Jones. It can't be long before all the elements come together and we shall see a good Liskeard-Looe performance. Liskeard-Looe host Falmouth at Lux Park tomorrow (3pm). It promises to be a cracking game.