Back in November the Athletic travelled to Walcott with just 14 players and they were well beaten on the day. Today was sweet revenge . Some last minute shuffling of players due to two late cry offs saw Troy Hannam playing out of position at scrum half and Ben James drafted in from the colts to start on the wing.

The early exchanges saw an even contest between the two sides but then an increase in energy level and superior organisation saw Weston get close to the Walcott line. A good catch by Frost in the line out and robust driving play by the Weston pack took them very close and Smit was denied a touch down as he was dispossessed by the covering tackle as he crossed the line.

Another driving maul was stopped by a number of Walcott infringements and the ref awarded a penalty try for the Athletic to open their account. Frost converted.

Burns was kicking intelligently and a beautifully measured cross kick was fielded by McGrath who went over in the corner despite the attention of the Walcott defence. Frost converted again from close to the touch line and the Athletic appeared to be taking control.

Further good work on the half hour delivered quick possession to the backs and Vaughan took his chance with a pacy run at an angle that scorched through the Walcott defence. This time the extras were missed but the Athletic seemed to have the game won at 19-0.

Walcott rallied and some strong running by the Walcott inside centre earned a chance for the forwards to get into the action and when they won recycled ball they squeezed over near the corner. Their try was converted and the sides went into half time with Athletic still 12 points clear.

A handling error at the restart put Weston under pressure and the Walcott attack forced through for an unconverted try. The Athletic’s lead was a narrow 7 point margin and they were put under 30 minutes of intense pressure. The defence held out and with just a couple of minutes remaining forwards and backs combined well to move play into the Walcott 22.

Vaughan broke through the defence and scored a great try to seal victory for the Athletic and round of an impressive senior debut. The United backs had better keep up a high standard as Vaughan will be pushing hard for a place on this form.

This win, their 8th from 15 starts, and with games in hand puts the Athletic in a good position to move back up the table after a long lay off. Next week they face Midsomer at home and are hoping to keep up their winning ways.