Sat. 29th Feb. Southern Counties South Yeovil RFC 3 Frome RFC 44
The Frome RFC 1st travelled to Yeovil RFC looking to continue their recent run of wins, expecting a tough battle against their Somerset rivals.
Playing against the wind Frome started strongly and pinned the home side on their own line, but stout defence kept the visitors at bay until No.8 Alex Mallon took a quick tap from a free kick to force his way over.
Yeovil fought back immediately and a discretion at the break down gave them a Penalty in front of the posts, which the home side 12 duly converted.
Frome continued to press and after a kick to the corner, Flanker Matt Smith took the line out to set up a succession of rucks which despite a determined defence from the home side, Second Row Rob James crashed over for a deserved try, converted by James Howard.
Frome’s next try came when Captain John Benstead chipped the ball over the Yeovil defence for Fly Half Simon Westlake to kick ahead and gather the ball to score a converted try.
Frome’s bonus point try came when the restart didn’t go the 10 metres but an alert Howard caught the ball to sprint 45 metres, just to be caught 5 metres from the line, however he offloaded to the supporting Dav Jones who dived over to score.
Frome completed the scoring in the first half when Howard broke again and with support from James, the ball found its way to Prop Geoff Taylor who finished the move with aplomb. The first half ended with Frome leading 32- 3.
The second half started with the home side determined to put on a show for their supporters and sponsors. They controlled the ball for a long period of time at the start of the second half and forced Frome to defend desperately to protect their lead.
The defence held firm led by Mallon, and the visitors eventually gained a foothold back on the game and from a line out close to the line, created space down the blindside for James to score in the corner.
The second half continued to be well contested but Frome scored a seventh try when the home Fly Half’s clearing kick was caught by Fullback Rob Sully on the 10 metres line, he then chipped the ball over the opposing Winger and gathered, beating 4 men before scoring a great individual try to complete a 44-3 win.
The Frome RFC, Man of the Match Award, sponsored by The Old Bath Arms, Frome went to Fullback Rob Sully.
Head coach Toby Culff said, “I wonder if there was an element of over-confidence in the team’s preparation and in the warmup because we didn’t look physically or emotionally switched on during the first 10 mins. We were sluggish and we seemed to underestimate Yeovil’s determination and combativeness in contact.
“As a result, we failed to build an early platform and it wasn’t until the middle of the first half that we established any dominance. That said, when we did find the ascendancy, we were pretty ruthless in attack and we scored some outstanding team tries. Two or three came soon before half time and these served to put the result beyond doubt.
“We set ourselves fresh objectives for the second half and, though our performance in the second period was frustrating and disappointing in many respects, some of these were satisfyingly achieved.
“Yeovil played with enormous perseverance and to prevent them from scoring was a demonstration of the recent improvement in our defence. During our briefer-than-usual spells of possession, we managed to notch two more good tries, including an absolutely stunning solo effort from Rob Sully. The competition for Try of the Season is now closed!
“This was a good test for us and Yeovil’s 2nd half performance was creditable. We need to keep working hard and looking for improvement. We also need to learn to differentiate between confidence and complacency. I feel sure we’ll be even better next week and I’ll look forward to the difficult challenge presented by a trip to perennial local rival, Walcot.”
Photos by totallyfocused.co.uk
