Stop-Start Game But Another Bonus Point Win

Having not played for 5 weeks, Avon were noticeably rusty and the match was a very stop-start affair with the referee awarding a host of penalties against both teams for a variety of offences which prevented any continuity developing.

After an early period of pressure from Yatton, Avon struck ruthlessly with their first excursion into the visitors 22. Swiftly recycled ball was transferred along the back line to winger Matt Thresher who stormed over in the corner for the opening try. Within minutes, Avon doubled their lead as a well-executed training ground move saw the ball switched in midfield to blindside winger Iain Parris to touch down.

With both their front line kickers sidelined, both tries went unconverted and it seemed that this might cost Avon dearly as a Yatton breakaway saw them open their account with a converted try to close the gap to 3 points. In the end though, that proved to be their only score of the match as Avon’s defence withstood any further opportunities.

Avon number 8 Dan Cousineau made a welcome return from injury with a barnstorming performance and was rewarded for his man-of-the-match display with a pushover try from the dominant pack to leave the half time score at 15-7.

The second half was marred by even more penalties incurred by both teams, resulting in very little rhythm to the play. One exception led to a powerful charge from Xander Hall-Davis who then offloaded to Thresher who left a trail of desperate defenders in his wake as he surged through for his second try to secure the bonus point.

Centre Zak Harwood capped an impressive performance with a powerhouse break through midfield before unleashing supporting scrum half Kiddie Sheikh who touched down under the posts. Thresher added two conversions to complete the scoring as the match petered out in staccato fashion.

Afterwards former club captain Berian Price on a rare visit to Bath summed it up by saying “Avon always looked too strong and threatened to score when they were able to develop successive phases but the game suffered from the constant interruptions which prevented much flowing rugby.”

On the previous Friday evening, Avon 2nds visited Bradford on Avon 2nds where they went down to a 14-10 defeat. Avon’s tries were scored by skipper Ben Hurd and Ben Harding-Wyatt but they were undone as BOA also scored two tries but importantly added the conversions.

Jim Hearn made a wonderful debut in the centre and it was good to see former 2nd row forward Andy Cameron making a return to action alongside Rhodri Theaker after many years. With Mark Davis and Ed Boulton suffering head injuries, Avon would like to thank Bradford on Avon for loaning a couple of players as replacements.