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Sat 25 Jan 2020  ·  Tribute South West 1 West
Keynsham
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Thornbury Rugby Football Club
First XV
Thorns lose to last-play penalty

Thorns lose to last-play penalty

Dave Fox26 Jan 2020 - 11:59
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A penalty in the last play of the match robbed Thornbury of a win in a tense match which saw the lead change hands several times.

Thorns recovered from an indifferent first half for a more controlled second but gifted Keynsham a try and made errors at crucial times before conceding a penalty on their line in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

The match was re-arranged after the original scheduled fixture had to be postponed from mid-December. Thornbury’s plans were hampered badly when Jay Burley and Charlie Squier dropped out on the morning of the match with sickness and injury respectively. As a consequence Johnny Heaven switched from loose to tight head prop with Kieran Wilson coming in for his first game since the match at Lydney. Ollie Critchley came in for Chris Moseley at lock with Ben Marlow starting at six. Mike Johnson joined Jack Pinker at centre with Bob Adams returning to the wing. Fit again Billy Cantin was drafted in from the seconds along with Jack Summerfield and joined Mike Beswick on the bench.

Keynsham had recovered from a difficult period when several players were injured and possessed an awkward pack which had given Thorns a difficult afternoon in the corresponding fixture last season. They had narrowly lost at Sidmouth the previous weekend and had only lost to Devonport Services and North Petherton at home.

The afternoon was dark and gloomy with mist hanging around in the trees. Light was poor as Thorns started the match wearing red shirts. The opening stages were close although Keynsham edged the scrum contests. Then Thorns were penalised at a scrum but the Keynsham penalty hit the post and went wide. Thorns took play back up field and after Keynsham’s influential No.8 Jack Weston was penalised for a no-arms tackle Jack Pinker put Thornbury ahead with a penalty.

Thorns had limited possession but looked dangerous when they chose to run the ball. However they regularly kicked possession away and with indifferent chasing Keynsham had plenty of time to counter-attack. They ran the ball back and had Alfie Richardson not pulled off a fine tackle Keynsham would have scored. However they were awarded a second penalty and narrowly missed again. Thorns kicked the ball clear and another Richardson tackle ended a dangerous counter-attack. But he was penalised for a high tackle, Keynsham kicked for the corner and after a period of pick and go Weston crashed over for the score. The conversion went wide but Keynsham were ahead.

The restart enabled Thornbury to take play into the Keynsham half and a back move created space for Sam Poustie to cut through but he was pulled back for crossing. After Keynsham had missed another penalty Thorns used their backs to run out of defence but a forward pass to Dan Hussey was spotted and the move ended. But Thorns were playing with some width and Alfie Richardson set off on a dangerous run but he was late-tackled as he kicked behind the home defence. The first half ended shortly afterwards with Keynsham leading 5-3. It had been a torrid half for Thornbury as Keynsham had dominated but Thorns were hanging in. During the break Mike Beswick came on for Mike Johnson.

Thorns regained the lead five minutes into the second half when the ball was moved to the left following a period of pick and go on the Keynsham line. Alfie Richardson was hauled down close to the line but James Phillips gathered the recycled ball and crashed through two defenders to score. The conversion missed but Thorns were 8-5 ahead. Shortly afterwards Mike Beswick hobbled off and Billy Cantin came on.

Thornbury had more ball and were managing the game far better but Keynsham scored next when after the forwards again pounded the Thornbury line the ball went left and despite a despairing tackle from Harry Glew wing Ceiran Chester scored by the corner flag. The conversion missed but Keynsham were back ahead at 10-8.

Thorns again surged to deep in the Keynsham half and the home hooker was yellow-carded for another high tackle. Thorns attacked on the home line again and Dan Hussey was put in at the corner but as he dived to touch the ball down he lost possession. But Thorns were in the right part of the pitch and continued to attack. Another series of drives on the home line created space for the backs but a pass was intercepted by Chester, looking suspiciously offside lurking amongst the Thornbury backs, and he had just enough pace to run the length of the field and score. Dean Weaver converted for 17-8 and things were looking bleak for Thorns.

The deficit was reduced four minutes later when Thornbury attacked from a scrum. Dan Hussey broke clear and found Bob Adams in space. He rounded his opponent and passed inside to Alfie Richardson who raced around and scored between the posts. Pinker converted for 17-15 and Thorns had the momentum.

As the match neared the end Keynsham were penalised again for a late tackle. The distance looked too far for Jack Pinker but the kicking tee Bob Adams used was missing so Pinks stepped up and kicked the penalty which cleared the crossbar by a metre and Thorns regained the lead at 18-17.

With the match in injury time Thorns had possession in their ‘22’ but rather than keeping it in hand kicked the ball to the Keynsham backs who setup what appeared to be their last chance to regain the lead. The forwards pounded the line again and Thorns were penalised directly in front of their posts. Weaver stepped up and kicked the winning goal. The referee blew for the end of the match and all Thorns had from the game was a losing bonus point.

This was frustrating. Thornbury could, indeed should have won this game based on their second half performance but made costly errors. Arguably, two of the three tries conceded were “soft” whilst Thorns should have scored at least one more themselves and kicked away the possession they had fought so hard to secure. The backs looked dangerous with ball in hand and with a little more patience gaps would surely have appeared in the Keynsham defence. Thorns looked fitter than Keynsham and the front row of Johnny Heaven, Kieran Wilson and Sam Evans deserve great credit for putting in full-match shifts against such a bulky pack. Indeed in the latter stages they edged the scrum contest. The turn-around from a poor first half was commendable. In addition to the front row Louis Osborne had a good game and James Phillips took his try well. Alfie Richardson’s confidence increased as the game progressed so there are plenty of positives to take from the game, but only one point.

Thornbury travel to Newton Abbot on Saturday where they will be expected to defeat the bottom side in the league. But it is in matches where expectations are high against struggling opposition that Thornbury sometimes come unstuck, and with the Devon club having only beaten one side, Keynsham, Thorns cannot be complacent.

Scorers:
Thornbury: tries – James Phillips, Alfie Richardson; conversion – Jack Pinker; penalties – Jack Pinker (2).
Keynsham: tries – Jack Weston, Cieran Chester (2); conversion – Dean Weaver; penalty – Dean Weaver.

Teams:
Thornbury: Alfie Richardson; Bob Adams, Mike Johnson, Jack Pinker, Dan Hussey; Sam Poustie, Harry Glew; Kieran Wilson, Sam Evans (c), Johnny Heaven, James Phillips, Ollie Critchley, Ben Marlow, Louis Osborne, Jack Hussey.
Replacements: Jack Summerfield, Billy Cantin, Mike Beswick.

Keynsham:, Sam Challenger; Ceiran Chester, George Warren, Ollie Conybeare, Matt Carr; Dean Weaver, John Pearce; Phil Harvey, Josh Woodman, Ryan Harding, Matt Clifton, Ash Linton, Joe Clements (c), Hayden Johnson, Jack Weston.
Replacements: Briden Tanner, Jack Josham, Dan Moody.

Referee: Simon Long (Berkshire Referees’ Society)

Match details

Match date

Sat 25 Jan 2020

Kickoff

14:00

Competition

Tribute South West 1 West

League position

7
Thornbury
10
Keynsham
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