Tries at either end of the first half were followed by one from Henry Low and a brace from Gez Asante in the second. The match was also of historical significance to Thornbury. When Wayne and Liam Underwood became the first father and son to play in the same first team game.

Injuries, holidays, family commitments and nasty doses of various illnesses had a significant impact on the list of available players. However, the introduction of halfbacks Wayne Underwood and Joseph Woolf from the second XV allowed Alfie Richardson to move to fullback. Joe is the nephew of Stuart Adams and follows in the family business by playing at scrum half for what would be his debut, whilst former captain Wayne provided much-needed experience and control at outside half. Stu McWhinnie continued his temporary selection in the backs alongside Mike Beswick at centre with Chris Perrett and Sam Garbett on the wings. Gez Asante and Jack Summerfield worked either side of Henry Low in the front row with James Wood and Tom Constable continuing their established second row partnership. Ryan Russell was brought in to No.8 with Liam Underwood and Olly Wood on the flanks, Olly being the second debutant and brother of regular back-rower Ben. The bench had props Alex Bosworth and Tyler Trower selected along with Dan Hussey. Tyler would also make his first team debut when he came on.

Stow had won the earlier fixture and been victorious in their last five fixtures. Remarkably, they had been able to field the same starting XV for virtually all those matches. Fourteen of the starting fifteen that Thornbury faced in October remained, whilst Thornbury had nine, only five of whom were in the same position.

Thornbury kicked off downhill on a chilly afternoon in poor light. They immediately set about moving the ball about but the defence from Stow was fierce, then after Thorns were awarded a scrum in the Stow ‘22’ Alfie Richardson made ground and put Sam Garbett in at the corner for a third minute try. Richardson’s conversion from the touchline narrowly missed but it was the ideal start for Thornbury.

Shortly afterwards Stow showed the strength and creativity of their backline and a counter-attack took play from ‘22’ to ‘22’. That put them in pole position to score, but although Thorns defended well for many minutes the pressure told when good passing put wing Cam Tyler in for a try. Dave O’Sullivan converted to ease Stow ahead.

Thorns surged back into the Stow half and were awarded a penalty which was put into the corner. The forwards tried to drive over but were penalised as the maul approached the goal line and Stow were allowed to clear. A few minutes later good support allowed No.8 Ben Collett to score. Then Stow scored direct from the restart when a flowing attack introduced wing Will Marks to the game and he raced up the touchline swerving inside several defenders to score a fine try. O’Sullivan’s boot made it 19-5.

As halftime approached Marks scored a second try from a quick penalty and with O’Sullivan’s conversion Stow had the try bonus point and a comfortable 26-5 lead. Thornbury attacked from the restart and after charging down the right the ball was moved to the left and a long pass from Alfie Richardson put Chris Perrett in at the corner. The conversion missed but Stow led 26-10 at half time.

Dan Hussey came on for Perrett during the interval and with the props rotating all Thornbury’s replacements had been involved. Early in the second half Thorns scored a third try when Henry Low scored over from a lineout drive. The unconverted try reduced the deficit to 26-15, and then Gez Asante came back on for a disappointed Alex Bosworth who had received a blow to the head.

As the third quarter drew to a close Thorns scored a fourth try. They had been on top for most of the half but Stow’s defence was well-organised and difficult to penetrate, however after the visitors were penalised as Thorns delivered countless short phases Wayne Underwood took a quick penalty and Richardson’s pace took him to the line before offloading to Asante who crashed through the last line of defence to score. With the score now 26-20 Thorns were within a score of the lead.

Thornbury’s dominant scrum was then penalised and O’Sullivan put the ball into the corner, where prop Andrew Piercy scored after a period of pick and go on the line. O’Sullivan added the extras which extended the lead to 33-20.

However, Thorns were well on top and pressurising the Stow attack. They were able to prevent the ball being moved to their dangerous wings. With ten minutes to go Sam Garbett nearly intercepted a pass, knocking the ball into the air but he was held back as he went to gather the ball. Play continued but there was a steely determination to score. James Wood continued to carry well and Henry Low was everywhere. Tyler Trower was making his presence felt in the tight and loose but Thorns needed to score to be in with a chance of a losing bonus point. Then after a lengthy period dominating play in the Stow ‘22’ Thorns scored in injury time. After the forwards had driven deep into the ‘22’ a period of pick-and-go on the line tied up the Stow defence before the ball was moved to the left and Asante crashed over. Alfie Richardson had the conversion to ensure Thorns got a losing bonus point and although far from easy the kick was straight and true. The whistle went for the end of the match and although Thorns had suffered a 33-27 defeat they had secured two valuable points.

Had Thornbury played a lesser side than Stow they would almost certainly have won. They were comfortably the better side in the second half but defensive lapses and some excellent play by Stow in the second quarter saw the visitors open up a lead that was just that bit too much for Thorns to overcome. Nevertheless, Thornbury’s performance was encouraging, they finished on top and five minutes more could have seen a victory.

The scrum went particularly well, with all four props having an impact. Teenagers Tyler Trower and Alex Bosworth showed great strength and skill, whilst the carrying of the pack and recycling at the breakdown was excellent. Liam Underwood had his best game in a Thornbury shirt. Joe Woolf had a fine debut at scrum half and he linked well with Wayne Underwood, who controlled the game well. The three quarters ran hard whilst Alfie Richardson had a fine match and proved beyond doubt that he needs to be deployed in the back three. As well as Joe Woolf both Tyler Trower and Olly Wood had debuts they can be proud of. Henry Low and Gez Asante had outstanding games and along with Alfie Richardson would have been in the forefront of the minds of the match sponsors from Cotswold Homes when selecting the player of the match. But that went to Wayne Underwood for a fine game on his return to the first XV, six years after his last match.

Scorers:
Thornbury: tries – Sam Garbett, Chris Perrett, Henry Low, Gez Asante (2); conversion – Alfie Richardson.
Stow-on-the-Wold: tries – Cam Tyler, Ben Collett, Will Marks (2), Andrew Piercy; conversions – Dave O’Sullivan (4).

Teams:
Thornbury: Alfie Richardson; Sam Garbett, Stuart McWhinnie, Mike Beswick, Chris Perrett; Wayne Underwood, Joseph Woolf; Gez Asante, Henry Low, Jack Summerfield, Tom Constable, James Wood (c), Liam Underwood, Olly Wood, Ryan Russell.
Replacements: Alex Bosworth, Tyler Trower, Dan Hussey.

Stow-on-the-Wold: Angus Hayward; Cam Tyler, Archie Hayward, James Holmes, Will Marks; Dave O’Sullivan, Jamie Gibbs; Jack Oughton, Jacob Collett, Andrew Piercy, Scott Coombes, Rhys Edwards, Jim Wood (c), Toby Stayt, Ben Collett.
Replacements: Ollie Clements, Charlie Slatter, Tom Barber.

Referee: Ashley Morris (Bristol Referees Society)