Fri 18 Mar 2016
Tribute Somerset Premier
Weston United 29 Nailsea & Backwell 26
This game was played on the Friday night under lights and a good crowd of supporters were entertained by these two sides in what turned out to be a tight contest come the end.
Weston were awarded an early penalty which they decided to kick to the corner. From the resulting lineout it was prop Harry Nash who was driven over the line for the first score which was converted by George Chapman.
Ten minutes later, Nailsea went on a rare attack and managed to score in the corner despite two blatant knock-ons in the build up that were missed by the official.
Weston were soon back on the attack and Nailsea were struggling to live with the strong carries by the home pack, noticeably by second row pairing of Ross Chesher and colt Sam Light who was making his first start for the Seconds.
From a scrum, centre Mike Leahy made a great carry to allow quick ball to be recycled down the blind channel. Great hands by winger Troy Hannam popped the ball back inside for Loz Ware to score a good team try. Chapman again adding the extras.
The try of the night was next as Nailsea failed to find touch with a kick. The ball was gathered by Captain Ollie Caton who went on a mazey run and then found winger Benbobson Fondu who bashed and jinked his way to the try line for a fine individual score, Chapman again kicked the conversion.
Weston went in at the break leading 21-5, the lead could and should have been more if prop Tom Wheatley could have kept hold of the ball instead of dropping it as the try line approached.
At the start of the second half Weston were awarded a penalty and decided to take the points and increase their lead.
Weston then fell asleep in defence and gave Nailsea an easy seven pointer due to poor tackling.
The home side then secured the bonus point having been awarded another penalty they kicked to the corner. Chesher gathered the lineout and the pack were driven over the line for Sam Light to open his account.
With the score now 29-12, Weston clearly thought the game was won with a little over twenty minutes to play they decided to put their feet up and have a rest.
This allowed Nailsea back in and they managed to score two converted tries with the second being the last play of the match. At the final whistle Nailsea were celebrating as bizarrely they thought they had won......clearly they had got their sums wrong!
Weston should have been out of sight after an hour but kept making silly mistakes and they will need better game management if they are to win their last four matches and stay in the top four of the Somerset Premier.
George Chapman had a fine match and kicked well throughout and the home side seemed to have more urgency when he moved to scrum half.
Weston United scorers - tries: Harry Nash, Loz Ware, Benbobson Fondu, Sam Light; cons: George Chapman (3); pens: George Chapman
