Tribute Somerset 2 North

Weston Athletic 3 Hornets 3rdXV 3

Weston's Development side entertained Hornets III on Friday evening in front of a packed Rec.

Both sides were able to field squads of 28 players, which speaks volumes for the depth of players at both clubs and all contributed to an entertaining game.

Hornets clearly had the advantage up front and they took control in the opening 20 mins with a series of powerful set piece drives.

But Weston dug in and saw out the early pressure through a series of great tackles and turnovers, along with a few mistakes and fortunate decisions going our way.

The second 20 mins saw Weston more on top with good field position after some excellent touch kicking from full back Harry Flower and skipper Dan Prime.

Weston's line out functioned well but Hornets defence was just as committed as Weston's had been and along with a few handling errors from the home side they kept the try count to zero.

A penalty slotted by Dan Prime late in the half being the only score. Weston made lots of changes at half time with Marcus Nel making his debut for the club.

The second half was an evenly contested affair with both sides having opportunities to score.

Handling errors cost Weston but their defensive effort was outstanding.

Hornets levelled with a penalty mid way through the half and the game was in the balance.

Weston will feel they could've won it in the last 10 minutes with a series of good opportunities, and Hornets will feel they could've taken more advantage early on.

There was a very late look away moment late on with Hornets just missing a long range penalty.

This was a really positive night for the lads who are working really hard and continuing to grow as a squad. Harry Long, Kieran Shelley and Rob Tollan were the pick of the pack, whilst Brandon Mu, Dan Prime and Marcus Nel stood out in the backs.

Man of the Match this week was Ben Searle who's positivity at training, player ownership and performance on the pitch have been outstanding

A big thank you to Hornets RFC for the great support they provided and to the players who stayed on late for a beer or 12. We look forward to the return fixture