Hull Ionians 48 v 14 Sheffield RUFC

Hull Ionians 48 v 14 Sheffield RUFC

Never mind Mystic Meg, even Clinton Baptiste didn’t see this result coming, but look at it in whichever way you like, you will struggle to conclude it was anything other than an emphatic win for Ionians.
The home side scored 8 tries and conceded only 2; but it wasn’t the margin of victory that was impressive, more the commitment and determination that really stood out, setting them on the path to a vital five-point win.
Ionians made a good start. Sam Pocklington drifted a penalty into touch five metres from the Sheffield line, a clean catch, no mean feat against the lofty lads in the Sheffield pack, and Ionians drove over for a try for George Mewburn. Charlie Kirk judged the stiff breeze well to add the conversion and Ionians were 7 – 0 up after a couple of minutes of play.
Sheffield were kept on the back foot by uncompromising work by the hosts and, aided by infringements by the Abbeydale side, Ionians were soon back into the opposition 22. The first scrum went Sheffield’s way when Ionians were penalised, allowing Callum Posa to hoist them up over half way.
The formidable Sheffield line-out took easy ball and the back row drove on, only to be pinged for holding on, permitting Pocklington to put Ionians back into a good position with another superb kick. A cheeky throw to the front of the line got Ionians trundling forwards and from the ruck Pocklington picked out Josh Britton, who burst through the line before popping a pass to James Thompson who crashed over in the corner. The try went unconverted but the lead, and the confidence with it, grew. Ionians were 12- 0 up with twelve minutes played.
Scrummaging was becoming an area of conflict. The steel cities Ben Whitney, in particular, was keen to impose himself at every opportunity but Nichola O’Donnell managed the set piece extremely well (something most of her colleagues are seemingly incapable of doing) and when things looked like boiling over, she quickly brought things under control.
Both sides traded penalties and possession before Sheffield put the ball into touch, after Ionians encroached at the break down. Catch, drive and over; only for Ms O’Donnel to deem that the grounding was short of the line and Ionians were reprieved.
They made the most of the let-off. The resulting penalty for holding on allowed Pocklington to clear to touch. The line-out didn’t go well but at the resulting scrum Sheffield were penalised and Pocklington again did the honours. Clean ball was whipped away when the drive was held and Josh Britton danced past some pretty average defending to dot down under the posts. Kirk had no difficulty with the routine kick and Ionians were 19 points to the good approaching half an hour of play.
It just kept getting better for the hosts. Ionians barged their way clear of their own 22, Britton broke clear again and, with little support, kicked ahead. Sheffield failed to deal with the bobbling ball and James Sanderson snaffled possession and galloped away. He had Alfie Cellela and a couple of Sheffield defenders for company and somehow the ball went to ground, but was hacked on. Young Alfie showed there is more to his game than brute strength as he won the race to touch down, just before the ball went out of play. 24 – 0 just after the half hour, and a bonus point in the bag!
Ionians saw out the rest of the half comfortably, but not even the most optimistic home supporter held the belief that the game was won. Pessimism easily outweighed positivity on the far touch (a miserable group of individuals, of which I was one).
Ionians could have extended the lead at the start of the second half. Sam Wilson hacked on a loose ball and was only just beaten to the touch down. It hardly mattered. At the 5m scrum Ionians won a penalty, they elected to scrummage again and they moved the ball across to the wing where Cellela outpaced the cover to slide over in the corner.
Sheffield, who had seen little of the ball and rarely threatened, notched their opening try with a catch and drive, for Rhodri Campbell to claim the score. Elliot Fisher added the extras to bring the score to 29 – 7 with half an hour of the match remaining. Was this the start of a come back?
If it was it was short lived. Ionians finally put any doubts to bed with two tries in five minutes just after the hour mark. Sheffield failed to deal with a towering Garryowen and the veteran winger Wilson hacked on, gathered the ball and raced 60 yards to score. Kirk added his third goal to extend to lead to 36 – 7.
The determination that Ionians had shown was exemplified by James Thompson, who recovered a lost cause close to the Sheffield line to win a penalty. It was impossible to miss touch but the ball still needed to be secured. Up went Lucas Powell to claim the catch and on went the drive. The maul drifted in field but still edged towards the line and Joe Makin capped another towering performance by completing the move with a try.
The match was into the final five minutes before Sheffield grabbed a second try. Scrum half Elliot Fisher had been trying to galvanise his side and he led a break into Ionians territory. Sheffield were awarded a scrum and they broke from the base and powered through the mid-field to finish with a try for centre James Flint. Fisher added the goal, to bring the score to 41 – 14, and then tried to lift his colleagues to further success.
Unfortunately for him it led to a frenzied passage of play which only presented Britton with an easy interception and a stroll to the posts. Kirk’s conversion brought the score to anywhere between 44 and 48 points, according to a clearly delirious President, who had hold of the microphone, and brought to an end a thoroughly deserved victory for the beleaguered home side.
This was a return to form for a number of individuals and the team as a whole. Particularly worthy of comment was the effort of the front five who stood solidly against big and abrasive opposition.
Results elsewhere took a bit of the gloss over the result; Billingham narrowly defeated Wharfedale and Wimbledon thrashed North Walsham, but Ionians showed their true potential and should face the remaining two games with renewed optimism.
It’s Otley at Cross Green next week, see you there.