Petersfield President’s XV 19 Exiles XV 38: A SCINTILLATING demonstration of 12-a-side rugby lit up an otherwise dull Boxing Day to enthral and delight the masses at Petersfield Rugby Club’s traditional annual fixture at Penns Place.

With many of the older players of the club taking their ease after exertions on Christmas Day, the fixture was one for the youngsters as this season’s colts came to the fore, strutting their stuff alongside regular senior players and the odd Exile.

The reduced team numbers and firm playing surface provided plenty of scope for good running rugby and both teams took full advantage, kicking off at a break-neck pace which never flagged, much to the delight of the appreciative crowd.

The discovery that the match had everything it needed bar a referee to officiate the match resulted in an emergency shout out to Andy White, who hot-footed it to Penns Place in time to blow for the kick-off.

The Exiles XV, a mixture of former and current players, have won the Andy Millar Memorial Trophy every year since 2014 with all by wide margin of points – 2015 being the closest finish. Sadly, for the President’s XV, they were unable to halt the Exiles’ run.

The scoring was opened by the Exiles with an early converted try and they soon romped to a 19-0 lead with two further tries, one converted. This was despite the even levels of possession and territory between the teams.

The Presidents’ men tried hard but ultimately failed to hook up a decisive move until just before the end of the half when they punched through the Exiles’ defence with pace and slick handling. The impressive Nic Wilde finished the move strongly with a 25-metre drive to the line and Nick Blumlein added the extras to pull the score back to 19-7 at the break.

The pace of the game picked up from where the teams had left it at the end of the first period.

Jordan Allan picked up the ball on the right wing before haring past the Exiles’ defence. Allan essayed a delicate chip over the last defenders that sat up perfectly for him to run on to and ground. Blumlein added an impressive drop-goal conversion from the right touchline to bring them within a converted try of the lead.

The Presidents’ XV gave away a host of penalties, which allowed the Exiles to clear the decks or ramp up pressure on their line.

The teams exchanged unconverted tries, before the Exiles turned the screw and ran in two more tries, one converted, to end the match at 38-19. It could have been more, but the Exiles’ James Barden dropped the ball when crossing the try line.

At the final whistle the players gathered for the presentation of the Andy Millar Memorial Trophy by Celia Millar to the Exiles’ captain.