This was one of the few local games to survive storm Dennis and Avon gave an outstanding display of how to play the wet and windy conditions as their tactical game management paid dividends. With standing water on the pitch from the outset and playing into the fierce wind, Avon sensibly kept the ball close amongst their forwards and took an early lead on their first visit to the Oldfield half as centre Ollie Flight breached the fortress defence from 30 metres out to burst clear for the opening try.

Points were precious in the conditions and, although Oldfield’s pack started to gain dominance and Avon conceded a string of penalties, the home side were kept at bay with some outstanding defence. Twice Oldfield went to the corner for a lineout seeking a forward drive over the try line and twice the Avon defence stood firm to repel the red army. Despite losing number 8 Josh Harding-Wyatt to an ankle injury, Dan Griffin joined the fray and fully contributed to the rearguard action alongside Will Hayward and Sam Book.

Once Avon gained possession, they kept the ball for long periods within their pack with powerful forwards Chaz Meddick, Kane Book, Xander Davis and Ben May making the hard yards, whilst scrum half Kiddie Sheikh put in some immense box kicks to relieve the pressure. Then as Avon made a rare excursion upfield against the powerful wind, they ruthlessly struck for their second try. A lineout drive provided the attacking platform before man-of-the-match Ollie Flight cut a great line to power over for his 10th try of the season.

With Jonny Batchelor nailing the successful kick, Avon took a 12 point lead into the break but suffered an early setback just after half time as skipper Kane Book fractured his fibula after a collapsed scrum on his 299th first team appearance for the Black and Ambers. With Louis Belsten proving a useful replacement and Ian Burnell maintaining his 100% winning streak as deputy captain, Avon were happy to use the elements to force Oldfield to play from deep with a series of downfield kicks from their half backs, allied to an excellent kick-chase from wingers James Leeming and Iain Parris.

As conditions worsened, these tactics paid off with neither side really threatening to break the deadlock before referee Laurence Beere, who controlled the game well in the atrocious conditions, brought the match to a welcome end for the drenched players and hardy spectators.

Afterwards Head Coach Kai Harwood said “It’s always pleasing to win our local derby matches but I’m most happy with the way the whole squad stuck to our game plan and controlled the tempo and style of play against a useful Oldfield side”