Bath Chronicle

Improved display enough draw away

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Avon’s improved away form this season was not quite enough to secure all the points following the long trip to Minehead, eventually having to settle for a 28-28 draw in this highly entertaini­ng Counties 2 Somerset encounter.

The Bath side started well and took an early lead when Xander Davis crashed over from close quarters following a sustained period of early pressure. Johnny Batchelor then added a penalty to stretch it further.

Avon had the edge in the tight with Dan Cousineau, Davis and Josh Hiscott all making inroads into the Minehead defence. It was against the run of play when Minehead broke through to score under the posts.

The visitors kept to their game plan, mixing up the point of attack and, with the backs starting to find gaps, flanker Dan Griffin extended their lead with a well taken try, Batchelor added the extras to give Avon a 15-7 half-time lead.

Avon got off to the worst possible start as they conceded a soft try within two minutes of the restart to bring the hosts back within a single point. This game was always going to be tight and, shortly after, Batchelor had slotted another penalty.

Once again Minehead got their third converted try to take the lead, only for the visitors to square it up again at 21-21 as the full-back was on target again.

Avon still had the majority of possession but the Minehead defence was resolute and, with a large home crowd cheering on every tackle, they were becoming hard to break down. With ten minutes to go, fly-half Tom Boreham spotted a gap and sliced through a scrambling defence to score under the posts, again converted by Batchelor.

Avon had not won at Minehead for several years and now sought to hold on to their seven point lead. But it was not to be as they were undone by a speculativ­e kick ahead and the unkind bounce as the Minehead winger got his hand to the touchdown first. An excellent conversion from the touch line pulled it level.

Avon did have a final chance to win the match but the 40m penalty attempt agonisingl­y drifted wide and they had to settle for the draw. The two points ensured that they retained fourth place ahead of Saturday’s hosting of unbeaten leaders Old Redcliffia­ns 2nd at Hicks Field.

ELSEWHERE, Keynsham were beaten for the third consecutiv­e time by Thornbury in Regional 2 Severn. Losing 49-21 at Crown Fields, Keynsham were unable to build on their victory over Frome last week.

In Counties 1 Southern South, Combe Down were 47-10 winners over visiting Blandford to sit a point behind leaders Wimborne with three wins from four games. It was their first encounter since 2017 where the results proved much closer. In turn, Down are a point ahead of Walcot who enjoyed a 29-0 whitewash of Frome 2nd.

In contrast, Avonvale suffered a 44-3 defeat at Yeovil to continue their losing streak against their opponents. Vale are still looking for their first win of the campaign.

Oldfield Old Boys made it three wins from three in Counties 2 Somerset as they beat Taunton 2nd 26-21 at Shaft Road. It was a muchhigher scoring contest than the 3-3 draw when they last met in January 2016, but Oldfield were able to continue their unbeaten streak against Taunton. Their Second Side managed their first win of the campaign in Counties 3 Somerset North, edging past hosts Midsomer Norton 2nd 27-25 to narrowly better the 27-27 draw when the sides last met in March 2019.

The win doesn’t lift Oldfield off the bottom of the table however as they still sit on minus five points. The derby in the division was won by Old Sulians as they beat Keynsham 2nd 24-19 to avenge their defeat at Keynsham in February. Henry Stratton did touch down twice for Keynsham, alongside a Jake Davis try and two Drew Lewis conversion­s, but it proved insufficie­nt, as they were beaten for the second time in three games. Sulians made it four wins from four as they sit second.

Stothert & Pitt are six points behind in fourth after they recorded their second victory of the campaign. Visiting Winscombe 2nd, Stotherts won 61-10.

Keynsham 3rd enjoyed a 40-5 win over St Bernadette­s Old Boys 2nd in Counties 4 Somerset North to bounce back from their opening day defeat and avenging their narrow loss at Bernadette­s in January.

Corsham were handed a home walkover by Wheatsheaf Cabin Crew to make it two wins from two in Counties 2 Dorset & Wilts Central. In contrast, Bradford on Avon were beaten for a second time, 26-17, at home to Amesbury which proved a better result than the 50-7 suffered at Amesbury in January.

In Counties 3 Dorset & Wilts 2nd, Corsham 2nd made it three wins from three with a statement 70-7 victory over Warminster 2nd, a far cry from their 17-17 draw in November 2019. Bath Saracens were beaten for a second time, 31-91 at Melksham 2nd, to end their winning run against their opponents, while Combe Down 2nd were unable to build on their win last week as they lost 38-3 at Sherborne 2nd.

Colerne got their Counties 3 Dorset & Wilts North campaign up and running at the third attempt as they beat Cricklade 29-14 to continue their winning form against their opponents.

In the Women’s Competitio­ns, Bath Ladies made it two whitewashe­s from two Championsh­ip South games as they thrashed Beckenham 43-0. Nia Grundy stole the show with a hat-trick of tries, while Leah Mcgoldrick dotted down twice alongside scores for Megan Wynne and Sophie Goulder-perks. Anya Small managed fours conversion­s as Bath secured another bonus point to begin the campaign in fine style.

The Second Side were narrowly beaten 12-10 at home to Ellingham & Ringwood in their NC1 South West (East) opener.

 ?? PICTURE: David Rogers/getty Images ?? Bath’s Piers Francis kicks a conversion during their Gallagher Premiershi­p defeat to Wasps
PICTURE: David Rogers/getty Images Bath’s Piers Francis kicks a conversion during their Gallagher Premiershi­p defeat to Wasps

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