IW completed a deserved double over Ventnor when their first teams met at Watcombe Bottom at the weekend.

It was the long-awaited second derby match of the season between the two sides.

Ventnor, who were thrashed 35-7 in the reverse fixture, kicked off the game, and it was Harrison Marsh and Guy Entwistle who set the tone with some hard tackling during the opening exchanges.

This saw the hosts on the front foot, with Ben Cooper slotting home an early penalty, but IW struck back quickly.

Isle of Wight County Press: Ventnor on the defence.Ventnor on the defence. (Image: Andy Mullins)

Some fine line kicking was the foundation upon which their reply was mounted, and the visitors powered over two tries.

They took the lead after 18 minutes. Luke Blackman appeared to have touched down under the posts, but with the referee unsighted, a goal-line drop-out was awarded.

It mattered little as IW ran the ball back and buccaneering second row, Andrew Brown, glided over from 15 metres.

Isle of Wight County Press: Ben Souter passes the ball.Ben Souter passes the ball. (Image: Andy Mullins.)

The visitors furthered their lead to 10-3 just before the break – Ed Lynch the beneficiary of a dynamic series of phases and touching down on the overlap.

Ventnor’s kicking game waned after early promise from Cooper, Luke Butler and Jake Babington, and the game became a scrappy affair, with the visitors always edging the territory.

Fortune favoured Ventnor at the start of the second half when Lines intercepted a loose pass and scored from deep inside his own half, despite the referee playing a penalty advantage for the visitors.

Isle of Wight County Press: Ventnor on the back foot.Ventnor on the back foot. (Image: Andy Mullins.)

With their tails up, the hosts threatened, and IW had to dig in.

Some adept tactical kicking from Jehane le Grange kept territory in IW’s favour, and after a long period of scoring stalemate, the visitors won a penalty which George Huish converted to extend his side’s lead to five points.

Ventnor’s George Collett was then given his marching orders following a minor off-the-ball altercation and following some close driving play from the IW forwards, skipper Blackman crashed over for a critical score.

Isle of Wight County Press: Ben Souter prepares to pass.Ben Souter prepares to pass. (Image: Andy Mullins.)

With IW comfortably in front, the pressure was off for the visitors, who found their groove and bagged their fourth try when Ventnor started taking risks.

It was a shade fortuitous, with a clear knock-on going undetected in the build-up.  

Biffa man of the match, Dan Ward, added some razzle-dazzle to his dependable full-back play, scoring brilliantly under the posts.

Blackman applied some further gloss to the scoreline soon after, and Huish converted the final two tries of the game, which ended 8-32.

IW continue to battle for league honours, and both sides resume their campaigns on January 6.  

But before that, IW are back in action for their annual Christmas charity match and raffle on Saturday, December 30, with the proceeds going to support paralysed rugby player Luke Orton.

Teams:

Ventnor: Collett, Marsh, Price, Teague, Coltham, Savill, Morton, Entwistle, Souter, Cooper, Blake, Butler, Lines, Cocks, Babington; subs: Lythgoe, Fairman, Gray.

IW: Ward, Jones-Evans, Huish, Rackett, Rolfe, Le Grange, Lockhart, Newnham, Bennett, Keyes, Brown, Martin, Lynch, Webster, Blackman; subs: Puzey, McQueen, Browne.

Pictures by Andy Mullins.