Chew Valley 2nds 66 – Wellington 2nds 0

Chew Valley were forced into a late change to the starting line-up as prop Callum Bartlett came down with a mysterious 12 hour stomach bug after a dodgy korma the previous night. Chew Valley were fortunate to be able to call on veteran prop Will Keel to replace Bartlett in the starting team. Wellington began the game with only 14 players and were soon down to 13 men when their outside half was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes for a dangerous tackle on Chew scrum half Alex Hodson. Midway through the first half Wellington were restored to a full complement of players when their 15th man arrived having got lost on his way to Fortress Lobbingtons. Chew won an early penalty for an offence at the ruck. Captain Jam Stonn elected to take the kick for goal to get the scoreboard ticking over. With no kicking tee in sight George Worle had to use an improvised mound of mud which brought back fond memories for many of the supporters on the side. Unfortunately this improvisation seemed to put Worle off his game as he skewed his kick wide. This set the tone for the rest of the game for Chew from the tee where Chew only managed to convert 3 of their 12 tries. Chew will be looking forward to the return of Ben Worle as kicks will no doubt be crucial in their upcoming games. For the second week in a row Chew dominated up front both at scrum and lineout time as the greater size and better technique that Chew had to offer put them on top from the off. Chew played some great phases in the first half and were regularly able to cross the line during the first period. Tries from the following players (exact order is unclear) Silas Cox, Ross Elliott, Luke Summerhayes, Alex Hodson (two tries), George Worle and Jonathan Eves who left a number of defenders trailing in his wake on his way over the line for his one try for the season. Ross Harding (Son of Smeagol) was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet with several mazy runs leading to him going close more than once. With all of the conversions missed by Worle and several other try scoring opportunities also missed by Chew, the 35-0 half time score could have been a lot worse for Wellington who battled valiantly throughout. Sam Wedlake had to come on the wing late in the first half to replace Steve Bartlett who got a knock to the head – amazingly in spite of this Bartlett was seen climbing on the roof of the clubhouse in the second half to retrieve a ball from a conversion from George Worle.

Elliott Smith replaced Harding at (or around) half time. Taking off Chew’s most potent attacking weapon in the first half didn’t affect Chew as the second half was much the same with Chew scoring regularly. There were some quality tries with backs and forwards linking well together. Head Coach Lee Smith finally saw the benefits of his team sticking with the phase system that has been put in place across the club. Tries in the second half came from Elliott Smith, George Worle, Sam Wedlake and Ali Russell but the try of the day was scored by captain Jam Stonn. Stonn who had never scored a try in any form of rugby was on hand to finish off a flowing move with the ball going through lots of pairs of hands before ending up with Stonn who made no mistake this week after last week’s near miss. Callum Bartlett having overcome his stomach bug made it onto the pitch for the last 25 minutes in place of Eves. Chew rotated kickers throughout the second half with George Worle adding two kicks from in front of the posts and Silas Cox adding a conversion with the last kick of the game. However, Alex Hodson and Luke Summerhayes both fluffed their lines with their attempted conversions. With the final whistle Chew had racked up 12 tries on their way to a 66-0 win. Head Coach Lee Smith was delighted with the performance but was especially happy with a second consecutive clean sheet for his team. Whilst each and every player who took to the pitch performed admirably, Smith singled out debutant Barney Spooner and youngster Luke Summerhayes for particular praise after the game. Chew now have a week off before a big game against Crewkerne who are one place above them in the table.