Leaders are given a stern test by Vale
Avonvale gave a good account of themselves against Counties 1 Southern South league leaders Wimborne.
Wimborne arrived at Crown Field with a massive pack and quickly asserted authority, earning a couple of scrum penalties which they kicked to the corner. From the lineout, the Wimborne scrum-half dummied through some poor tackling to score near the posts. The try was converted and the writing was on the wall for Vale.
A few months ago Vale would have collapsed by this setback, but they are made of sterner stuff now and they roared back at Wimborne. After a cross-kick was gathered by young winger Ollie Phillips he dotted down over the line. Ten minutes later, Wimborne were attacking in the Vale 22 but a dropped pass was gathered up by Phillips who raced the length of the field to score. The extras were added by full-back Josh Meagor.
Wimborne reasserted authority to score two tries before half-time to lead 17-12. Again the spectators thought it could be a heavy defeat, but Vale attacked relentlessly but could not score. Wimborne showed why they are top of the league by scoring two tries late on, leaving them 27-12 winners.
Vale were certainly not upstaged by their more illustrious opponents and if they carry the spirit and determination into each game they will be competitive in this league as they host Blandford on Saturday.
■ COMBE DOWN suffered a 13-5 defeat at home to Swanage & Wareham in their Counties 1 Southern South encounter, ultimately going down to Swans’ second half display. After a even opening ten minutes, a series of penalties for Down took them into the Swans 22 and a series of scrums saw them remain there for the next ten minutes.
However, a penalty allowed the visitors to clear their lines, move up-field and slot a penalty of their own to open the scoring. Down responded well and put Swans under pressure before going over from a catch and drive on 35 minutes to lead 5-3 at the break.
Swans began the second half on the attack, dominating the scrums and putting Down under pressure. A pushover try and conversion moved Swans 10-5 in front, this forced Down onto the offensive but good tackling and their own mistakes restricted them. With ten minutes left, Swans slotted another penalty to make sure of the win.
■ AVON succumbed to a 32-22 defeat against third-place Hornets in an enthralling Counties 2 Somerset match at Hicks Field. It could have been so much better as Avon pounded their opponents’ line for long periods, earning a succession of penalties but failed to make the vital breakthrough.
Rob Fitch, acting as an emergency scrum-half, gave Avon a good start with an early penalty but Hornets immediately responded from the restart. A speculative kick down-field and a kind bounce was well gathered by the supporting player to touch down under the posts for a converted try.
It was clear that Avon had the upper hand in the forward exchanges, making ground from surging line-out drives and powerful scrums which forced numerous penalties. Eventually, another forward drive towards the line resulted in Fitch forcing his way over for a try to regain the lead.
Meanwhile, Hornets were always dangerous on the counter with some elusive runners in their backline. After a lovely catch and run, number eight Dan Cousineau broke down with a fumbled pass on the wing and the Hornets full-back scorched through from halfway for another converted try. This was followed by another try out wide as Hornets all too easily created an overlap from first phase lineout possession.
Avon came back strongly with powerful surges in midfield from Tom Boreham and Zak Harwood, only to be denied by strong defence. Hornets escaped and were next to score a fortuitous try which the match video later revealed to be a clear a knock on. This gave the Seasiders their bonus point try and a healthy 26-8 lead with half-time approaching.
Eventually Avon’s pressure paid off after multiple forward drives saw Cousineau burst through out wide to touch down, with Fitch adding the extras just before the interval. Young prop Oscar Cormack came off the bench and made an impressive contribution with his energy, whilst also putting in some excellent tackles.
Shortly after being held up over the line after a series of powerful close range drives, soft hands from skipper Kane Book released Xander Davis who cut a great line to stroll over for his seventh try of the season. Fitch again converted to close the deficit to four points.
By this stage, Hornets were being subjected to a barrage of attacks as Josh Hiscott sucked in the defence with his power and dexterity, and Escher Le Duc made a welcome
return in midfield. Hornets were restricted to breakout opportunities and pragmatically slotted two long range penalties to open up a ten point lead.
The final ten minutes saw Avon once again camped inside the visitors’ 22 where Hornets’ increasing penalty count eventually saw their flanker yellow carded after numerous transgressions. Although Avon desperately sought the try to collect bonus points, Hornets’ defence stood firm to close out the game.
On Saturday, Avon host Tor at Hicks Field.
■ ELSEWHERE, Keynsham were 24-5 winners at Regional 2 Severn second bottom Winscombe in the sides’ first meeting since 2008. Walcot remain five points behind Counties 1 Southern South leaders Wimborne after notching a 60-7 win at Blandford to continue their form against Blandford, although this is Walcot’s biggest win over them during their recent encounters.
Oldfield Old Boys’ recent up and down form continued with a 24-10 defeat at unbeaten leaders Old Redcliffians 2nd in Counties 2 Somerset to remain fifth and five points clear of Avon.
Stothert & Pitt offered unbeaten Counties 3 Somerset North leaders a home walkover, which was also received by Oldfield Old Boys 2nd from Gordano 2nd.
Old Sulians are 11 points off Chew following their 38-17 win at Midsomer Norton 2nd which proved a slightly tougher task than the 82-0 whitewash Sulians enjoyed in January. Keynsham 2nd were 53-0 winners Winscombe 2nd to remain six points further back in fourth.
Keynsham 3rd move to within eight points of Counties 4 Somerset North leaders Old Redcliffians 2nd after a convincing 60-7 victory over Nailsea & Backwell 3rd, claiming a second consecutive win against those opponents. Walcot 2nd are a further six points behind after losing 43-12 at Chew Valley 3rd.
Corsham moved on to eight wins from eight at the top of Counties 2 Dorset & Wilts Central. Hosting Warminster, Corsham ran out 30-19 winners to avenge the defeat they suffered in 2017 when the sides last met. Bradford on Avon suffered a 33-5 loss at home to bottom side Westbury, a team they hadn’t faced since 2007 and now move to within nine points of seventh-place Bradford.
Bath Saracens claimed a second consecutive win in Counties 3 Dorset & Wilts Central, beating hosts Sherborne 2nd 22-15. Combe Down 2nd played out a 15-15 draw at Trowbridge 3rd to only close the gap to leaders Corsham 2nd to 11 points, having now played a game more.
Colerne are now four points off Counties 3 Dorset & Wilts North second place Chippenham 3rd after their 31-10 win at bottom side Minety, avenging the 12-3 loss from October.