Valiant Kenilworth come up short thanks to Gibson yellow

There was a familiar outcome for Kenilworth on Saturday as they suffered a courageous 25-12 defeat away to Whitchurch in muddy conditions, writes Sophie Freestone.
Mikkel Andresen had a hand in Kenilworth's first try and scored their second at Whitchurch.Mikkel Andresen had a hand in Kenilworth's first try and scored their second at Whitchurch.
Mikkel Andresen had a hand in Kenilworth's first try and scored their second at Whitchurch.

Kenilworth continued to show signs of improvement, and were just five points behind with 20 minutes to play before a yellow card for substitute Matt Gibson allowed Whitchurch to pull away against the 14 men in the final five minutes.

The first half set the tone for a physical match and it looked like it would be a long afternoon for Kenilworth when the hosts took the lead after 11 minutes.

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Pressure on the Kenilworth five-metre line eventually paid off for Whitchurch as their second-row smuggled his way over to open the scoring.

The conversion attempt was successful to give the home side a 7-0 lead.

The remainder of the first half saw the majority of play take place in the middle of the park with neither side able to build any significant pressure.

Although Whitchurch did breach the Kenilworth 22, the visitors’ defence held firm to stave off the attack.

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Kenilworth then showed what they are capable of as half-time approached with flanker Mikkel Andresen making a superb arcing run from outside the Whitchurch 22 to take his side to the hosts’ five-metre line.

The ball was recycled and fly-half Harry O’Brien’s footwork allowed him to step through the Whitchurch defence and score to the left of the posts.

Hickman’s conversion was successful to ensure the teams went in level at the interval.

Whitchurch regained the lead five minutes into the second half with a penalty before extending their advantage after 52 minutes with a try from their full-back who danced through the Kenilworth defence.

His conversion gave his side a ten-point cushion.

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As with the first half, much of the second 40 was played in the centre of the field with few scoring opportunities, but Kenilworth made sure they took a rare chance that came their way.

Number eight Bobby Thompson quickly tapped a penalty before embarking on a rampaging run that took him deep inside the Whitchurch 22 and fellow back-rower Andresen was on hand to receive his offload and score in the corner.

Hickman’s conversion was unsuccessful to leave Ks trailing 17-12 with just over 20 minutes remaining.

With the match entering the final five minutes, replacement hooker Gibson was sent to the sin-bin and the resulting penalty all but sealed the victory for Whitchurch before they scored their third try in the 79th minute.

Sustained possession in the Kenilworth half took them up to the visitors’ 22 before their hooker scooped the ball up and powered to the line for a converted try.