Impressive Vale teach Calne some lessons

Having had comfortable victories so far this season, Vale knew that this fixture would be their toughest test to date with Calne proving to be one of the sides they have struggled against for the past few years. With their opponents always fielding a heavier pack, the recent poor weather added more concern for the Bathford side but the game didn't turn out the way the visitors had hoped.

Vale's backs showed their superiority early on and after a spell of exciting handling play they broke the Wiltshire side's defensive line when fly half Dan Sheppard sprinted through for a try, followed soon after by another when wing Jordan Webb found room on the outside and his pace left his opposite number behind. Both tries were converted by skipper Joe Vowles but the remainder of the first half saw Calne in the ascendancy and Vale's defensive skills were tested to the full.

Despite the clear size advantage, Calne fell short of the line time and again as Avonvale held firm and the visitors were forced to settle for a single penalty to show for their efforts with the last kick of the half.

The break was clearly not long enough for the tired Calne forwards and Avonvale took full advantage by pressing them back straight away and were soon rewarded when a quick ball fed wide to Tom Hendy saw the winger cross for Vale's third. Calne then responded by reverting to their tight forward game and eventually crossed for a pushover try but this just spurred the home side on and after taking a Calne scrum against the head, piled on the pressure close to the try line and prop Archie Dowman collected the loose ball, sold the defence a dummy and crashed over for the try. Sheppard this time slotted an impressive long conversion and was able to add another just minutes later when hooker Hayden Rogers cleared the ball upfield and the bounce beat the Calne full back and fell nicely into the hands of the oncoming Marcus Larbalestier who sprinted away for the home side's fifth and final try of the day.

Calne did manage one final try before the game ended but this was Avonvale's day and the victory sees them top the table with three games played.