Ipswich YM beat Thurston with last move of the game

Eastern Counties One Ipswich YM 31 Thurston 27 For much of this match YM’s late season revival seemed to have stalled, and it looked as if the team was going down to another defeat – until an amazing rally in the closing stages of the game saw them snatch victory with their very last move.

During the first quarter YM had slightly the better of the exchanges and led 5–3, a Corry Parfitt try against a Thurston penalty, but after 30 minutes this was all turned on its head as Thurston scored two converted tries in a minute, both from deep.

The first came after a clever reverse pass opened-up a gap, giving the visitors a 40 metre run to the line, scarcely hampered by some soft YM tacking.

Immediately from the restart this was repeated, no 8 Ollie Paxton running 50 metres, again through some slapdash tackling, to score, and suddenly the visitors were 17–5 ahead.

As the second half started, it was Thurston who got the next try, after recycling the ball through several phases, increasing their lead to 24–5.

Finally, with only 20 minutes of the match remaining, YM were spurred into action, and showed why they are the form team in their league at present.

Some urgency came into their play, and while decision-making was still poor, tackling and support play improved measurably. Three tries were scored in quick succession, the first a Carlton Ford solo effort from deep, then sweeping moves involving backs and forwards put Parfitt and then Simon Arnold over, all converted in the unconventional style of Arnold, to give YM a two-point lead.

There was still time, though, for some further twists in the tail. The visibly-tiring Thurston managed one final rally, and were rewarded with a penalty in front of the YM posts for a deliberate knock-on, and their lead was restored.

But YM were not finished, and even had time to spurn two scoring positions before Parfitt crossed wide out on the right to complete his hat-trick and a remarkable escape act for the home side.