A sadly common glaring refereeing error saw a try denied to welsh prop Jordan Samuel who clearly ground the ball over the try line but Templars did score first via a solid team try on 10 minutes via Josh Donaldson which he also converted.

It was Thurston who dominated the remainder of the half with a combination of foul play and illegal tactics but to their credit some decent phase play thrown in. The opposition No's 7 & 9 were a constant nuisance and in most games would have been yellow carded for numerous off the ball offences much to the despair of the team managers for the day Steve Arundell, Simon Wells & Aeron Stubbs.

Thurston soon hit back with 2 tries and a penalty of their own following some further inconsistent decisions from the referee which constantly put the Templars under pressure in their own 22.

Half time ended Thurston 17-7.

Second half replacements included hooker Charlie Cooper for Craig Trevain and flanker Seb Wehmeyer for veteran Phil Foster.

The second half continued in the same manner with Thurston scoring first. From some good rucking and recycling of ball, the backs were able to go wide and touchdown in the corner making the score 22-7

5 minutes into the half Ashley Mead and then skipper Adrian Illingworth were yellow carded for latterly for illegal clearing out at the ruck, this was a result of the referees inability to control the breakdown offences by Thurston.

On 50 minutes the returning talent of Jamie Carroll had to be substituted for a dislocated shoulder a third for the season, replaced by veteran Stubbs with Steve Fellowes also joining the fray replacing the ever reliable Nik McKean.

Down to thirteen men the Templars seemed to galvanise and following a powerful scrum and quick release from scrum half Beckinsale the ball was down the line quickly and after a link with No 8 Pawsey and good rucking at the breakdown on the opposition 10 yard line prop Samuel picked up and flopped over for a superb team try. Samuel converted his own try. Score now 22-14.

At this stage Matt Deal entered the fray for the impressive Josh Beckinsale as Templars battled hard to catch their opposition but in vain as the home team ran out victors with a final score of Thurston II 24 H.T.R.F.C 14.

Arundell stated "If you told us at the start of season, having been again promoted up a level, that we would be sitting fourth at the end of a tough season, we would have bitten your hand off". The top two teams were clearly not for this league level but all the other games were competitive and only 2 games were not played all season which is exactly what we need to build from for next season.

Templars now concentrate on all matters managerial with the end of season Presentation night being held at the Bird in Hand
on Friday evening April 10th and the A.G.M being at same venue on Tuesday 14th April at 7pm. Members, players and fans alike are all welcome to join in these events.

Pre-season training at the Pit at Courtaulds will resume on Wednesday July 8th at 7pm. We would welcome any new players to join in.