Broncos Deny Chew

This was definitely a ‘game of two halves’ as the football commentators like to say and a disappointing one at that. Good running and linking between forwards and backs in the first half gave Chew a well-deserved lead of 17 – nil at half time, but the second half saw Chew forwards forget how to ruck with the result that they constantly lost possession. This, coupled with only half the team choosing to tackle and some poor kicking allowed Thornbury to score four tries and take the match in the dying minutes.

After a shaky start to the first half, Chew began to dominate the play and good linking between the forwards and some strong runs, particularly by Sam Wedlake, Thomas Jones and Oscar Haywood, allowed Charlie McDonald to score the first try under the posts. This was quickly followed by a second try from Thomas Booth who caught a poor clearance kick from Thornbury and made a blistering run round the opposition’s defence to score again under the posts. Chew seemed to ease up at this stage and much of the remainder of the half featured some fairly lack lustre play with neither side crossing the other’s 22. However, just before half time, a good move by the Chew forwards resulted in Sam Wedlake breaking through the Thornbury back line to score. The try was converted by Thomas Booth.

Chew were sitting very comfortable at half time with the score at 17-0.

The restart saw a revitalised Thornbury signal their intention to win the half, and they put pressure on Chew right from the start. The Chew forwards failed to make any impression at the breakdowns with Thornbury consistently driving the Chew players off the ball. Despite some good tackling by a few of the Chew players, notably Thomas Booth and Guy Lawson-Johns, too many tackles were missed with the inevitable result that Thornbury went over to score their first try. Starved of possession, the second half degenerated into a very defensive game for Chew with Thornbury consistently pushing them back into their 22. Despite some desperate defence, two tries followed as a result of panic kicking by the backs from the centre of the field. The first was charged down by Thornbury for an easy score and the second was fielded by their outside centre, who set up a move ending in a try in the corner.

With the score at 17 – 15 and with some 16 minutes left to play Chew could still have hung on for a win. However, the Thornbury players tails were up and their forwards continued to drive Chew off the ball. With 3 minutes to go, Thornbury forwards broke through the Chew Valley defence again to win the game.

All in all this was a very disappointing result for Chew. They had had some good periods of play with both backs and forwards showing good handling skills and strong running. However, tackling was inconsistent and play at the breakdowns in the second half was particularly poor, allowing Thornbury back into the game. Takeaways from the match include keeping focused, retaining discipline and never taking the foot off the gas!