For the first game of the season only Mike Gaston from last season’s regular backs was on duty, and although most of the forward unit that finished the 2014/15 campaign were chosen there was a general belief that this was a shadow and experimental side.

Scrum half Bob Adams, prop Colm O’Loughlin and flanker Bertie Ridley-Thomas pulled on a Thornbury jersey for the first time, whilst Harry Calder and Jack Fare made their first team debuts. Alfie Richardson made his home debut and was chosen at fullback.

Old Patesians, from the division above Thornbury, fielded a strong side and included former Thornbury prop Luke Panting.

Thornbury began the game well and the crisp passing of Bob Adams gave the outside backs opportunity to run early, but Thorns conceded at turnover and the initiative was passed to Old Pats. Thorns were required to defend for their lives but kept the line intact until they conceded a turnover on halfway and good passing put wing Duncan Spurrier in at the corner. An excellent conversion from fullback Lee Hathaway opened up a 7-0 lead.

Undeterred, Thorns took play to the Old Pats line from the restart but lost an important attacking lineout. Then good handling gave Ben Guzman the chance to run but his inside pass went to Old Pats hands and the attack came to an end. Shortly afterwards Thorns were turned over and Spurrier finished off an impressive counter-attack. Hathaway converted.

Things went from bad to worse three minutes later when Thorns conceded a scrum against the head and Old Pats’ No 8 John Barker waltzed through some woeful defence to put centre Shay Morgan in for the try. With twenty minutes gone Old Pats led 19-0 and Thorns were looking down the barrel of a humiliating defeat.

Shortly after the restart Joe Jackson produced a try-saving tackle on the Old Pats left wing then Tom Head gave Thorns hope when he pounced on a dropped ball and raced in for a fine opportunist try. The conversion failed to threaten the posts but Thorns were on the scoreboard.

Old Pats came close to scoring again but the first of three periods ended with Thorns trailing 19-5.

Both sides shuffled their teams for the second period and shortly after the restart of the game Thorns dismantled the Old Patesians scrum. Chops O’Loughlin received he plaudits from his team mates, then repeated the feat at another scrum a few minutes later. Bertie Ridley-Thomas and Sam Jenkins combined to open up Old Pats down the left but the visitors’ defence was well-organised and Thorns were kept out.

Thorns were getting more possession and Alfie Richardson became more involved in the game, causing problems whenever he had the ball. Eventually Thorns were awarded a penalty close to the Old Pats line. Joe Jackson took it quickly and touched down on the line for the try, which he converted for 19-12. It was the least they deserved, playing with great spirit and making Old Pats look ordinary. Thorns had dominated the second period.

The period ended with no further score and the game looking to go either way. Both sides made further changes for the final period. Within seconds of the start Thornbury made a hash of clearing loose ball, were turned over and Spurrier completed his hat trick. Ross Cooke converted.

Thornbury looked weary and disjointed as their legs seemed to become heavy. Ash Kocheran scored another try and the game was over as a contest. Then Old Pats scored four tries in the last ten minutes, including a fourth for Spurrier, to give the scoreline a flattering edge.

Those who looked at the score alone could be forgiven for thinking that Thornbury had failed to turn up and would gain little from the game. However, reality is that there were many positives to take from the match. The new players took the opportunity to show what they can do and look assets to the club. They should all be proud of their performances. Young players such as Alfie Richardson and Sam Jenkins showed promise, whilst Harry Calder played with great confidence. The introduction of Chops O’Loughlin turned the scrum to Thornbury’s benefit whilst Bob Adams played in three positions as Rob Higgitt moved players around to try out different combinations. With the playing strength due to increase with the return of players who were unavailable for this game Thorns can look ahead with some confidence.

Next Saturday Thornbury play Trowbridge at home, kick off 3:00.

Scorers:
Thornbury: tries –Tom Head and Joe Jackson; conversion – Joe Jackson.
Old Patesians – tries – Duncan Spurrier (4), Shay Morgan, Josh Stevens, Ash Kocheran, Nathan Taylor, Joe Shelton; conversions: Lee Hathaway (2), Ross Cooke (3)

Teams:
Thornbury: Alfie Richardson; Tom Head, Sam Jenkins, Mike Gaston, Ben Guzman; Joe Jackson, Bob Adams; Luke Workman, Sam Evans, George Sheldon, James Wood, Nick Balman, Boris Elloff-Petros, Liam Pemberton (c), Jack Hussey
Replacements: Colm O'Loughlin, Thomas Boaden, Bertie Ridley-Thomas, Stu Adams, Harry Calder, Mike Sander, Ben Read, Louis Osborne, Jack Fare
Old Patesians: Lee Hathaway; Duncan Spurrier, Dan Burrows, Shay Morgan, Ash Kocheran; Craig Jones, Joe Hoyle; Luke Panting, Joe Shelton, Connor Thompson, Gethin Evans, Josh Stevens, George Angell, Craig Ballinger, John Barker
Replacements: Elliot Gardner, Connor Whittle, Haydn Jennings, Gareth Betteridge, Ben Tupper, Darren Moore, Lucas Roy-Smith, James Hayden, Ross Cooke, Hugh Howells, Nathan Taylor, Teddy Saunders

Referee: Ian Hillier (Bristol Society)

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