Avonvale prevail despite tough task
Blandford provided much tougher opposition against Avonvale than they anticipated. In a ragged, stop-start game, Vale really struggled to find any rhythm and were put under lots of pressure by a resilient Blandford side.
From the first scrum where Blandford shoved Vale off their own ball, Vale knew they were in for a tough afternoon. Vale had to defend their try-line for the first ten minutes and only a try saving tackle from centre Sam Beech stooped Blandford scoring.
Vale finally got their act together and, after some solid work from their forwards, number eight George Hobbs crashed over from five metres, taking four defenders with him. Vale had their tails up a little now and, after what seemed a kick to nothing from centre Scott Taylor, the ball bounced behind the Blandford goal-line and young Vale scrum-half Callum Neate dived on it to secure the score.
Full-back Joe Vowles added a penalty soon after before Blandford converted one of their own on the stroke of half-time, with Vale 13-3 ahead. The second half started much the same as the first, with Vale defending their line before finally getting into the Blandford half.
From a lineout on the Blandford 22, the ball went to Taylor who crashed through some very weak tackling to score under the posts. Vowles added the extras. Blandford hit back with an unconverted try before Vale sealed the game with a great move down the blind-side from a scrum and Neate was on the end of some great interplay to score out wide, leaving the final score 25-8 to Vale.
After the game, Vale spokesman Neate said: “Our biggest problem today was we thought we only had to turn up to win, but we toughed it out against some rugged opposition and secured the victory.”
Vale make the short journey to Combe Down on Saturday and will need to put on a much better display if they are to come away with anything.
■ AVON racked up eight tries in a comprehensive 50-5 victory over a plucky Tor.
Some scintillating three-quarter play set the tone as the ball was moved wide to stretch the visitors’ defence. Zak Harwood proved a constant threat in midfield, alongside powerful fly-half Tom Boreham, attracting the attentions of the Tor defenders before play was switched across field to allow Matt Thresher to run in the opening try.
Kiddie Sheikh made a welcome return at scrum-half and soon exploited the narrow-side with a trademark sniping run to unleash Iain Parris to score under the posts. Some powerful forward drives then resulted in number eight Dan
Cousineau touching down from a blind-side scrum break.
Tor had their moments in attack but couldn’t find the cutting edge in the face of some dedicated Avon tackling with Rhys van den Handel and Sam Book leading the way up front. It was no surprise when a sweeping move along the back-line saw Thresher finish off the bonus point try. Perhaps the most impressive score though came when Dan Griffin, in an unaccustomed role on the wing, scorched 50 metres down-field to add a fifth try before half-time.
The points avalanche continued immediately after the interval as another flowing move ended with the ever-dangerous Jake Coates touching down in the corner. Boreham nonchalantly converted from the touchline via the crossbar to add to his five successful conversions.
With Tor threatening with occasional forays upfield, Avon responded well, although they didn’t help their cause with some needlessly conceded penalties. Before long though, Thresher completed his hat-trick to pick up the man of the match award after cutting a great line from an Ian Burnell burst.
Avon brought up the half century with a well-deserved try from Harwood and welcomed back Ben May and Jonny Griffiths to join the action off the bench. With the game
petering out, Tor were rewarded for their great spirit and endeavours with a well-taken consolation try at the end.
■ ELSEWHERE, Keynsham’s three-game winning run was brought to an end at Newent. They were able to secure a losing bonus point in the 27-22 defeat, but Newent secured the double and leave Keynsham fifth in Regional 2 Severn, level on points with Chosen Hill Former Pupils and now just one ahead of Newent.
Walcot scored a half-century in their 53-5 victory over Yeovil in Counties 1 Southern South. It was a third win over Yeovil in 2022 and leaves them five points off unbeaten leaders Wimborne who beat Combe Down 58-10, who had been one of only two sides not to have lost to Wimborne this season following their draw in September. Combe are seven points ahead of Avonvale in ninth ahead of their derby this weekend.
Oldfield Old Boys are up to fourth in Counties 2 Somerset following their 31-23 win at Yatton. It completes the double over Yatton, who had beaten them in March.
Old Sulians received a home walkover from Winscombe 2nd to close the gap to Counties 3 Somerset North leaders Chew Valley 2nd to six points, having now played a game more. Keynsham 2nd enjoyed a 63-7 win at home to Bristol Telephone Area to secure the double and remain six points behind Sulians in fourth. A high scoring game at Adamsfield saw Stothert & Pitt also claim a double with a 41-31 success over Midsomer Norton 2nd.
Keynsham 3rd moved up to third in Counties 4 Somerset North and level on points with secondplace Imperial 2nd, having played two games more, following their 27-19 win at St Bernadettes Old Boys 2nd which proved a slightly closer game than the 40-5 victory in September.
Corsham have moved onto nine
wins out of nine at the top of Counties 2 Dorset & Wilts Central, enjoying a 38-0 whitewash at Wheatsheaf Cabin Crew. They now sit 15 points clear after Melksham’s defeat at Westbury. Bradford on Avon suffered their third consecutive defeat, losing 55-13 at Amesbury. It’s Bradford’s third loss against Amesbury in 2022.
There was no play in Counties 3 Dorset & Wilts Central as all three games ended in a walkover, including Bath Saracens receiving a home win from Trowbridge 3rd and Corsham 2nd an away victory from Melksham 2nd. It keeps Corsham 13 points clear at the top, with Saracens 28 points behind in fourth.
Colerne suffered a 24-0 whitewash at home to leaders Supermarine in Counties 3 Dorset & Wilts North, ending their three-game winning streak.
In the Women’s Competitions, Bath returned to action and produced a statement victory with a 97-7 success as Blackheath. Nia Grundy weighed in the biggest points haul with her five tries, closely followed by Sarah Holloway who also dotted down but slotted eight conversions in a fantastic performance with the boot.
Chloe Fletcher was also successful with her feet as she kicked three conversions and also scored a try. Holly Edmonds bagged a brace, while there were also scores for Esme Bird, Ellen Witt, Lucy Juffkins, Megan Wynne and Chloe Sopp. It keeps Bath top of the Championship South by eight points.
The second side enjoyed a 56-0 whitewash at home to Amesbury in NC1 South West (East), claiming their second win of the campaign. Bethany Kennedy took the plaudits with a double hat-trick of tries, alongside a double for Bethan Thomas and scores from Catherine Davidson and Megan Griffiths. Nell Powell slotted two conversions, with Bethan Dombkowski also successful with a kick.