Title sealing victory gets seal of approval from former players

With an Old Boys Reunion scheduled for the same day the title could be claimed, everything was set for an almighty celebration at Bathford but Sutton Benger, glowing in their bright pink kit, had other ideas and did their best to spoil the party. In the end though, the Wiltshire side's stubbornness and determination proved exactly what was needed to make this a thoroughly entertaining contest and brought out the best in the Avonvale squad.

Benger started with intent and refused to lie down all afternoon, the seven tries to two final score demonstrating only how well Avonvale supported the ball carrier throughout the match. An early try from a driven lineout gave the home side the early advantage, number 8 Jack Regnard claiming the score with a stretched arm following good work from the rest of the pack and some ground gained by the solid hits of second row Donald Wilkins and prop James Neale. Fly half Steve Grant slotted the conversion to take his personal tally to 100 for the season, his first of six for the afternoon.

With the visitors well aware of the threat from the Avonvale three quarters they made it clear that they intended to attack through their forwards but the hosts were difficult to break down and soon regained possession and put more pressure on the travelers. A strong forward surge resulted in a penalty and Vale scrum half Alex Pugh reacted quickly, taking the chance to tap and go into a gap that gave him a simple dash to the try line.

As the half progressed, more good quality rugby followed; Vale scored again on 30 minutes after a stolen scrum allowed Pugh to feed skipper Joe Vowles and the centre barged through the defence and the bonus point try came with the final play of the half when the Avonvale threes finally found space to break through, a last gasp tackle threatening to prevent the score but centre Ciaran O'Connor gathered the loose ball to finish the move.

At the break the home side started to introduce a few of their 'finishers', using a total of 14 replacements before the game was done but with a strong squad to call on the quality was uncompromised. Vale received the kick off and it was one of the newly introduced players who set up the next try immediately. A high kick from defence was cleverly gathered by fresh wing Drew Retford and his pace was too much for his opposite number, allowing him to get deep into the Benger half before passing inside for O'Connor to claim his second.

As if to demonstrate that the score didn't represent the match, Sutton Benger finally got some reward for their constant forward pressure and despite some stern defending their number 8 found just enough space to squeeze through, the conversion helping to add some respect to the scoreboard. Vale though responded immediately and pressure from the kickoff caused the visitors to concede a penalty from which replacement number 8 George Hobbs broke and set up a ruck close to the try line and after a couple more phases it was Hobbs again who found space and popped to prop Archie Dowman to finish.

The half progressed with several more team changes but the passing and support play was relentless, Vale's final score possibly coming from the most entertaining passage of play as forwards and backs combined on numerous occasions, each attempt to block from Benger resulting in a feed to another supporting player and the start of yet another attacking move and when the ball found its way swiftly across the threes it was left for Retford to again outpace the defence and this time cross the line himself.

To their credit, Sutton Benger never let their heads drop and deserved to double their score although it took a rare lapse in the Avonvale concentration to help, the away side's centre weaving through the well-spread defence to touch down between the posts. The result was however already sealed and although no further tries were scored, the large crowd even had reason to cheer when veteran centre Steve Retford joined the game and came close to emulating his son with a couple of bursts that needed strong defensive blocks to keep out.

As the final whistle blew the joy was clear to see and the whole club celebrated late into the evening. Head coach Kevin Moggridge paid tribute to the players and all those that have supported the side but warned that the season was not over yet and his target was to finish the league undefeated.