Coming into the game, Nailsea & Backwell were on a high, topping the Somerset Premier table with 6 successive bonus point wins and also winning the Bristol Combination Vase final last weekend. This was reflected as they made a confident start to the game but were rocked when Avon took the lead after 10 minutes as scrum half Kiddie Sheikh sniped over for the opening try which was converted by Jonny Batchelor.

Avon proved this was no fluke as their powerful pack began to dominate the set pieces. One surging line out drive took play deep into the N&B half before Tom Boreham made a great break through midfield and offloaded to the supporting Sam Book who crashed over for their second try. Batchelor again added the extras. With Josh Hiscott and Xander Davis powering into the home defence, Avon then had a try controversially disallowed from a clever blindside move with an adjudged forward pass.

Nailsea & Backwell showed their class as they worked their way back upfield and took advantage of an unnecessary blocking penalty to switch the ball wide for Harvey Flower to touch down in the opposite corner. They followed this with another try inside the corner flag from winger Joe Collins who took advantage of a great cut-out pass that sucked in the Avon defence.

Undeterred, Avon struck back again and a flowing move almost resulted in another try but they were eventually rewarded as another scything run from Sheikh set up the position for Batchelor to slot a penalty just before half time. At 17 – 10 ahead having played down the home side’s infamous slope, it always seemed that Avon were perhaps a score or two short and Nailsea restarted the second half in confident mood, moving the ball quickly wide at every opportunity. They were repelled by outstanding Avon defence where man-of-the-match Will Hayward led by example, leaving N&B scoreless after another 30 minutes play.

Eventually, some unfortunate injuries to their outside backs left Avon to field two forwards in unaccustomed positions out wide, allowing Nailsea to capitalise on their reorganisation with a try to level the scores from centre Corry Love. This was followed by another try after Harry Mason touched down from a driving lineout to take the lead.

When top scorer Jamie Elwood kicked a penalty to open up a 10 point gap, it seemed that Avon’s efforts would be in vain but they showed their teamwork and resilience by again taking the game to their opponents with fierce pressure up the slope, driven on by skipper Kane Book. This unrelenting commitment saw Jonny Batchelor pick off a loose pass to sprint over under the posts, with the straightforward conversion ensuring that Avon had something to show for their performance.

Next week, Avon host Oldfield at Hicks Field with a 3pm kick off.