Bristol Combination Cup Quarter-final

Thornbury 9 Weston-super-Mare 15

Thornbury play two leagues below Weston, and they presently occupy a perilous position near the foot of Western Counties North, but they gave their guests much cause for concern during this quarter-final of the Bristol Combination Cup.

The Seasiders eventually ran out winners by three tries to a dropped goal and two penalties, but when Thornbury brought the score back to 15-9 with Simon Weaver's second penalty, there were still 15 minutes of normal time remaining.

By now, the hosts were plotting an upset and their left wing Steve Allington may still be wondering why he spurned the chance of a winning try by kicking ahead when clear.

Weston had elected to play up the Rockhampton Lane ground's considerable slope and they were in the lead in the 10th minute when Andrew Richards' catch and drive provided a try for David Cook.

Thornbury replied with a dropped goal by Dai Matthews and they could have led at the break, but Weaver lost the ball over the line.

Weaver's first penalty four minutes into the second half took the score to 6-5, but Weston's response was immediate when Hallam Smith was driven over for his first try for the club.

Prop Tobias Gukibau, who had replaced Edward Hunt, gave the Seasiders some breathing space when he touched down, following a penalty scrum.

However, Weston's line-out had already started to deteriorate, as had the performance of their midfield and Thornbury were able to attack with considerable vigour.

Wing Paul Sprague, who spent yet another afternoon being ignored, came to the rescue with a try-saving tackle before Weaver's penalty set up a tense finish.

With five minutes remaining, Weston were reduced to 14 players. Having used all their replacements, they lost Ross Bennett with a serious-looking hamstring injury and the hosts were quick to use their numerical advantage, especially during the 10 minutes of stoppage time added on by referee Richard Berry.

But a determined defensive effort, superbly led by George Sparks, took Weston to the semi-finals, where they will meet either Cleve, Clevedon or Whitehall Old Boys.

Weston-super-Mare: H Warman; C Young, T J Madamombe, J Reid, P Sprague; M Armstrong (L Hember 73), R Bennett; H Smith, J Fillingham (D Burge 73), E Hunt (T Gukibau 59), A Richards, A Russell, D Cook, W Tuitupou (P Morrissey 59), G Sparks (capt).