A perfect start with Chaz Meddick making inroads to suck in the Reds defence then saw a long pass in the other direction to open up the chance for Iain Parris to touch down in the corner. Kiddie Sheikh converted magnificently from the touchline, then shortly after added a penalty to extend Avon’s lead.

Avon’s Achilles heel was then exposed as they failed to deal with the restart, allowing Old Reds to open their account with a converted try. Avon immediately bounced back as their pack turned the screw with Xander Davis touching down after a powerful lineout drive.

Taking their foot of the gas, much of the rest of the half was fairly error-ridden as both sides exerted a lot of effort without much positive reward before Avon exploded into life inside the last 10 minutes. As the pack, led well by skipper Kane Book, cranked up the pressure, the ball was swiftly transferred to midfield where Davis cut a great line to burst through for his second try. Then after a series of 5 metre scrums, JJ Pulvertaft surged over the tryline to dot down the bonus point try, again converted by Sheikh.

A dropped restart and missed tackle again gave Reds the chance to get behind the Avon defence for another converted try to reduce the deficit to 27-14 at half time, which they improved straight after the interval with a series of short drives for a well-constructed try in the corner. This seemed to shake off Avon’s lethargy as Josh Harding-Wyatt’s words and actions inspired the team who increased their intensity with man-of-the-match Will Hayward and Sam Book up front and Dan Griffin in midfield leading the way with some powerful tackles.

With half backs Kiddie Sheikh and Chris Flavell managing the game well with a mixture of probing kicks and darting breaks, it was no surprise when Avon increased their lead as they capitalised on another forward surge to move the ball swiftly through the backs where Matt Thresher finished off the try out wide. Despite battling hard, Old Reds started to tire and Avon ruthlessly added another two tries in each corner to cement the win. Pressure defence saw Parris seize a loose pass to celebrate his second try with Turkish delight before James Leeming fastened onto a clever cross-field kick to add their 7th try to complete the scoring.

Afterwards Director of Rugby Clive Book commented “Although the try count is pleasing, we take most pleasure from the much improved defensive structure. However, we know that we need to step up next week when we entertain high-flying local rivals Oldfield who will be starting as favourites on current form.”