Another Big Win Despite Lacklustre Performance

The match had originally been scheduled as a home fixture but was switched as Hicks Field was waterlogged after the recent heavy rain. For the first 15 minutes, it seemed that Avon hadn’t turned up in Bristol after an uninspiring start with the wrong attitude. Poor tackling and decision-making saw St Bernadettes take full advantage of this lethargic start to score two tries and open up a 12 point lead.

After stern words from skipper Kane Book, Avon gradually began to take control following a series of lineout drives and levelled the score line with 2 tries from Xander Hall-Davis, one converted by Jonny Batchelor. The game remained a scrappy affair though with Avon conceding a string of needless penalties which prevented any cohesion.

Escher le Duc did break through to touch down his 5th try of the season shortly before half time and this was followed soon after by a penalty try to increase Avon’s lead to 26 – 12. Saints reduced the deficit with another converted try as Avon remained frustrated with a series of handling errors and failure to take their scoring opportunities.

They were also disrupted by some more injuries with Liam Ridley forced off with a calf problem before Rhys van den Handel suffered an appalling gash across his thigh which needed a trip to the RUH for it to be stitched up on Saturday evening.

Despite these setbacks, Avon still managed to add another two converted tries through Zak Harwood and Jake Coates to end up as convincing winners on the scoreboard with Sam Book picking up the Man-of-the-Match award for his tenacious display. Afterwards coach Kai Harwood said “It’s a sign of the standards that we set ourselves that the lads are really disappointed with their performances despite winning by 20 points. We know that we will need to improve again for next week’s game at Oldfield.”