THE Rangers secured their first win since September in a thrilling match against Chichester seconds on the road.
CHICHESTER II 31, ISLE OF WIGHT 36
Both teams delivered an exciting 80 minutes of play, with five tries each in this Hampshire Counties 2 League encounter on Saturday.
Despite travel issues and a shortened warm-up, Isle of Wight started strongly, winning a line-out five metres out.
A textbook catch and drive allowed Dan Bishop to crash over after 18 minutes.
However, a muddle during a clearance kick allowed Chichester to race in from halfway, leading 14-5.
The Islanders quickly responded, with the forwards making dents before Luke Blackman and George Huish exploited disarray in the home defence, with Blackman touching down for a fine score.
After a disagreement post-touchdown, Dan Bishop and a Chichester player were sin-binned for ten minutes while Huish converted and narrowed the gap to two points.
Chichester extended their lead with a good try in the wider channels, but Isle of Wight finished the first half strongly.
Sam Tregelles was stopped short after a piercing move, but Huish was able to crash over when the ball was recycled, converting his own score to leave it all square at 19-19 by half-time.
Isle of Wight suffered a blow at the start of the second half, when Chichester sprinted clear for an opportunist try.
However, they were rewarded for their expansive play ten minutes after the restart.
A flowing passage of play set Harri Jones-Evans on course for the line, but he was high-tackled and unable to ground the ball.
The referee awarded a penalty try and yellow-carded the offending Chichester player, giving Isle of Wight the lead for the first time at 26-24.
The next spell of play proved critical, with Isle of Wight's scrum dominating.
A Chichester scrum 10m from their own line was completely dismantled, leaving Blackman with the ball at his feet and only one man to beat.
He took the shortest route to the try line for his second score of the game.
Huish brilliantly landed the conversion from out wide, giving Isle of Wight a nine-point advantage.
The Islanders, who have struggled all season, will hope to carry the momentum of this win into their final home game of the season against Fareham Heathens on March 1.
IWRFC: Ward, Young, Jones-Evans, McQueen, Browne, Huish, D.Blackman, Hart, Butler, Newnham, D.Bishop, J.Bishop, Jones, Tregelles, L.Blackman (capt). Replacements: Keyes, Rolfe, Thorne.
