Defeat at the hands of old rivals Chew Valley

This match pitted the 2nd and 3rd placed teams in Somerset Counties 2 against each other and, for much of the game, there was little to separate the two sides. However, Chew always had the edge and were ruthless in exploiting their chances to score vital tries which eventually paid dividends on the scoreboard.

Avon made a good start with an early try as Ben May soared high to take an attacking line out before the pack drove hard to allow May to rejoin the rolling maul and surge over the line for the opening score. Chew responded as they sucked in the defence to create an overlap for Tom Garland to touch down in the corner. A wonderful conversion and penalty shortly afterwards from George Chapman gave them a 10-5 lead which they held until the interval.

Avon’s main attacking threat came from several powerful runs through midfield from centre Escher le Duc with Jonny Batchelor and Jake Coates also testing the defence from deep. But after the break, Chew scored two quick fire tries, the first after a clever blindside switch and the second coming after a good spell of Avon pressure broke down, allowing the visitors to break away to score at the other end.

Chew were increasingly posing problems up front from their pack in the set pieces and loose exchanges, playing with great efficiency on the front foot. It was to Avon’s credit that they rose to the challenge and added their second try as Sam Book forced his way over after another powerful line out drive. Batchelor added the extras to reduce the deficit to 24-12 and the game remained nip and tuck until the final stages.

Then Chew Valley eventually made their advantage pay as they scored another 3 tries inside the last 10 minutes. Liam Evans at scrum half went over twice, firstly from a quickly taken tap penalty and then after charging down an attempted relieving kick. Then they seized on an Avon turnover in midfield to break away to add the icing on the cake with their final try of the afternoon. With fly half Chapman completing an impeccable kicking performance with 6 conversions to add to his earlier penalty, the scoreboard was unforgiving at the end.

The Avon 2nd team assembled an eclectic mixture of former players and newcomers to host a friendly game against the Bath University Jaegers, eventually winning by 22 points to 12. To summon two old clichés, it was a game of two halves and a clash of contrasting styles. Featuring a youthful side with plenty of pace, the Uni Jaegers scorched into a 14 nil lead at half time with two splendid attacking tries. After the interval, Avon changed tactics to play a more forward oriented style which was rewarded with 2 tries for skipper Ben Hurd and another 2 for scrum half Andy Mead, with Paul Bates slotting a conversion. Mention must also be made of impressive performances from Mark Davis in the pack and Alex Jackman in the backs.