Tries galore for HMS Portland in Holland
HMS PORTLAND's Ospreys answered all their critics by putting Dutch side Den Helder RFC to the sword when the two sides faced each other on 1 July 2011.
During a high profile visit to support the Netherlands Navy Days PORTLAND relished the opportunity to play a side that had so often been a thorn in the side to Ship's rugby team.
The match started at a high tempo with big hits and smooth passing being the order of the day for PORTLAND. The first points were not long in coming, and they came off a wonderfully worked forwards move. LS Blackhurst was the inspiration behind a great lineout move which allowed AB (CIS) Newton to break off from a maul to score the first try of the game, setting the tone for the rest of match.
PORTLAND's offloading from the tackle meant they were firmly in control of the match and exploited gaps in the opposition defence to further their lead. By the end of the first period 5 of PORTLAND players had grabbed tries in an effort to put the game beyond the reach of the Dutch.
In a match where PORTLAND were so dominant and the tries so elaborate and frequent it is unfortunate not to mention every scorer in detail, but with AB CIS Newton expertly marshalling the game from fly half ET (ME)s Burger, Smith and Binns all got their name on the score sheet. The Dutch only breached PORTLAND's defence twice, but both times PORTLAND responded to the challenge and turned the screw on the Den Helder side.
Having struggled against their previous opposition Coach LS ‘Taff' Stedman was delighted to lead the celebrations with the final score being 46-12. The team now looks forward to their next opportunity to build on the game in Den Helder, and with confidence sky high the future looks good for HMS PORTLAND Rugby Club.