Hoppers on the Ball

Two tries from scrum half Tom Ball and a dogged second half performance helped Hoppers maintain their recent string of good results. Hoppers are now unbeaten in five games but they had to fight for the win in difficult conditions and made life hard for themselves with some basic errors and poor judgement.

Both sides struggled to find any rhythm in the opening minutes and were unable to adjust to the heavy conditions. The game did however spring to life with one of the more bizarre sequences of play. Owen McKenna’s sliced, or brilliantly executed, clearing kick went directly across the field to Sean Taylor whose scintillating break almost produced a Hoppers score. Huddersfield could have scored from the resulting turn over if hooker James Davies had not inexplicably and blatantly taken out a man off the ball.

The visitors did take the lead through the trusty boot of fly half Chris Johnson, but Hoppers soon took the lead with their, and Ball’s, first try. From a five metre scrum Dominic Moon picked up and fed Jordan Pearson whose pass found Ball in space and the scrum half was able to cut back against the drifting defence to squeeze to the line.

Huddersfield however, regained the lead immediately with Johnson’s second penalty, this time from a strange obstruction penalty from the restart. Johnson stepped up and comfortably slotted the kick from just inside the 40m line. Huddersfield were then reduced to 14 men when Gareth Lewis was sin binned for persistent infringements but Hoppers could not take advantage and things got worse when Dominic Moon was shown a straight red card for a head butt on his opposite number, leaving Hoppers to play out the remaining 50 minutes a man light.

The visitors capitalised immediately with a superb try, the resulting line out was moved quickly into the backs and wing Donavan Van Vuuren cut a great line using his pace and then power to split the home defence before setting up Thomas Owen in the left corner. Johnson missed the difficult kick but Huddersfield went into the break with an 11-5 lead.

Hoppers set about the second half with steely determination and took the initiative from the start. With good possession inside the 22 the forwards dominated the visitors who again tried the referee’s patience, this time it was Davies who was shown a yellow card. The Hoppers pack used his absence to their advantage by pushing a five metre scrum across the line. This allowed Jordan Pearson to touchdown and continued his impressive scoring streak, leaving the Hoppers just a point adrift.

Moments later Huddersfield lost another man after Van Vuuren was shown a yellow for a dangerous high tackle. Hoppers now had a man advantage and used the increased space to work a good move down the left flank. Alex Zavallis-Roebuck broke the line and combined well with Russell Flynn and Pearson to take the ball into the 22. Ball got possession quickly from the resulting breakdown and took advantage of the rush defence to slip down the side of the ruck to score untouched by the posts. Zavallis-Roebuck added the conversion to take the score to 17-11.

Hoppers then put in a superb defensive stand to keep Huddersfield at bay for the remaining 25 minutes of the game. The visitors were camped deep inside Hoppers territory for most of the half but a gutsy performance and some great last ditch tackling sealed what for most of the game looked like an improbable victory.

Back to back 5 pointers for impressive Hoppers

Two tries by Dominic Moon set Hoppers all five points on the road at Waterloo. Moon put in a fine all round display, leading a forward pack that was too strong for a determined home side.

With a strong gusty wind and poor conditions throughout both sides took time to get into their stride, and it wasn’t until quarter of an hour in that the game saw its first points. Hoppers had started to get the upper hand and when Moon and his fellow back row led a surge up the middle of the home defence from the back of a Hoppers scrum and after being camped in the 22 for sometime the referee finally lost patience with the Waterloo defence, sending flanker Carl Nolan to the bin. Hoppers took the five metre scrum and after the initial drive was thwarted Jordan Pearson was on hand to power over from close range. Alex Zavallis-Roebuck was successful with the extras.

Waterloo came straight back with a try almost gifted to them by the Hoppers. First touch was missed from a penalty kick and after Waterloo returned the ball into the Hoppers 22 they were able to steal the line out. Quick ball allowed Liam Reeve space to break the line setting up prop Sean Gibney for the score. James O’Brien was unsuccessful with the conversion and made to pay and moments later Hoppers stretched their lead with a Zavallis-Roebuck penalty after a great turn over by Sean Hall and Jordan Pearson inside Waterloo’s 22.

Again the home side responded quickly and this time took the lead. After the forwards made good ground from a line out the ball was released to the backs and Jack Matthews found a gaping hole in the defence. O’Brien was successful with the kick.

Hoppers left it late but had reclaimed the lead before half time with Moon’s first try. The pack was dominant at a 5m scrum pushing the home side back across its own line and Moon was able to pick up from the base to score. Zavallis-Roebuck added the conversion to take Hoppers into the break with a 17-12 lead.

The second half started the same way as the first with neither side able to create chances. Hoppers second row Wayne Steel was shown a yellow card for a maul infringement and Waterloo made their extra man count and levelled the scores with a Carl Nolan push over try from a line out.

Hoppers weathered the storm and Moon scored his second try while they were down to 14 men. Tom Hughes broke the line with a strong run and quick ball stretched the home defence and replacement Mark Edwards perfectly timed inside ball met Moon at pace as he sliced through to score. Zavallis-Roebuck added the conversion and then two penalties in quick succession to put Hoppers firmly in the driving seat.

Hoppers were able to use the gusty conditions to their advantage and kick the home side deep into their own territory and Tom Hughes was able to seal the bonus point when he powered over after a great turn over at a maul.

Hoppers had one most score in them as Zavallis-Roebuck landed a penalty with the last kick of the game taking his personal tally to 18. Hoppers might not have been perfect but returned to winning ways and can take pride from picking up 12 points out of the possible 15 from three tricky back to back away fixtures.

Hoppers secure all 5 points at Kendal

Hoppers secured their second bonus point victory in a row with an impressive win on the road at Kendal. Once again the forwards provided an excellent platform as they took it to the Kendal pack from the outset.

The forwards set the tone early as a great catch and drive from a line out ate up the yards inside the home 22 and when the referee awarded a penalty Alex Zavallis-Roebuck got the Hoppers on the score sheet from in front of the posts.

Hoppers continued to dominate in the tight but let Kendal back into the game after a needless penalty reversal gave the host great field position inside the 22. Once again the referee awarded a penalty in front of the post and Mark Ireland levelled the score.

Almost immediately Hoppers got themselves back onto the front foot and into the Kendal 22. With the forwards again making good yards from line-outs Kendal’s Gareth Gore was shown a Yellow Card for persistent infringement. Hoppers again went for the line-out this time from just 5m out and Jordan Pearson was driven over for the try.

Pearson had his second try just a few minutes later from a similar distance. Owen McKenna took advantage of a poor kick and launched a counter attack. James Williams took the ball into the 22 and then the forwards took over sniping away around the contact area with Pearson touching down in a similar spot to his first. Zavallis-Roebuck added the conversion. Hoppers could have had another try before the half but Russell Flynn’s pass was adjudged to have gone forward, but Hoppers still went into the break with a 15-3 lead.

Both sides started the second half well and Hopper’s needed some good covering defence to stop the home side from closing the gap but it was the visitors who increased their lead. Starting on their own 22 with a scrum, won from disrupting a Kendal scrum and further showing the forwards dominance, Dominic Moon broke clear and powered across the half way line. Mark Edwards well judged kick stopped just before the line and the covering Kendal player was pushed back over his try line giving Hoppers a scrum 5, almost 80 metres away from where they were defending a scrum just a minute before. The Hopper’s pack again was too strong for the home side and after resetting the scrum referee Guy Steele-Bodger made the decision to award a penalty try. Edwards added the extras from straight in front of the posts.

Kendal finally got a try of their own when John Ladell scored midway through the half. The home side capitalised on a poor clearance kick and both backs and forwards linked up well. The forwards had carried the ball up the middle but were unable to smash over, so the ball was released to the backs and centre Rob Aloe found a little space and his well timed offload gave Ladell the ball in space to score, Ireland was successful with the conversion.

The home supporter’s joy was short lived however, after stealing a Hopper’s line-out the backs were hesitant in clearing their lines allowing Tom Hughes to charge down the kick. Hughes collected the ball and coasted in untouched for the try, securing the bonus point.

The closing minutes were a nervous affair as Kendal through everything at the Hoppers in search of points. Matters were not helped when James Smith was sin binned and Kendal scored from a quick tap penalty. They moved the ball quickly through the hands before Ben Robinson weaved his way to the line. When Ireland added the conversion Kendal were only 10 points down with plenty of time for a comeback but Hoppers dug deep and hung on, in part due to a wonderful try saving tackle by James Williams just before the line which Hoppers were then able to clear. Kendal did however manage to salvage the losing bonus point with the last kick of the game as Ireland landed his second penalty.