Sat. 9th February. Wadworth 6X Southern Counties South West Division Corsham RFC 17 Frome RFC 24
After a gap in league fixtures last weekend, the Frome RFC 1st XV travelled to old rivals Corsham RFC 1st expecting a hard battle.
The home side started better and took the lead when they kicked a penalty to the corner and from the resulting line out, executed a catch and drive to score the first try of the game, which the home Winger duly converted.
Corsham continued to press and after Frome were adjudged to have infringed at the breakdown, the home kicker slotted the penalty to give the home side a 10-nil lead. Frome then up’d their intensity and after a break by Winger Ali Frost saw Frome score their first try through No.8 Alex Mallon, James Howard added the extras.
Corsham used the strong wind to their advantage with the Flyhalf pinning Frome back. The home-side were on the score card again when a ruck in the Frome 22 saw the Corsham Captain spot a gap in the Frome defence to score a converted try, which restored their 10 point advantage at half time.
Half Time: Corsham RFC 17 – 7 Frome RFC
Frome knew they had to up the intensity in the second half and with the forwards carrying hard and returning from injury, Centre Mike Rutt made yards up the middle.
Frome were rewarded with a try when they worked the ball out wide for MOTM Full Back Rob Sully to score in the corner. The difficult kick was slotted by Howard from the touch line to bring Frome to within 3 points of the hosts.
Continued Frome pressure forced Corsham to coincide a penalty which Howard slotted to level the scores. Frome were reduced to 14 men when a player was sin binned with 8 minutes to go, but they continued to press the home line and finally scored when Prop Elliott Bowler fed fellow front rower Aaron Blaney running on a great line and he crashed over for a try, which Howard duly converted.
Frome collected the kick off and saw out the last 2 minutes to complete a hard-fought win.
Final Score: Corsham RFC 17 – 24 Frome RFC
Head Coach Toby Culff said, “Our last three fixtures against Corsham have all been tight, nervy and niggly occasions. There’s no love lost between the two sides, especially between the two packs, and we knew exactly what to expect. Frustratingly for us, despite such rich motivation, we completely failed to turn up in the first half.
“We were 2nd best in every department and Corsham’s physicality seriously unsettled us. It wasn’t until the 2nd half that we found our composure and accuracy, albeit gradually and still somewhat unconvincingly. We’re not playing our best rugby at the moment but this team has huge character at its core, and the players again demonstrated their determination to succeed this season. Indeed, one of the clearest barometers for this team’s progress is its ability to dig deep and nick these tough wins on the road, even when we leave our best rugby behind in Somerset.”
The Man of the Match award, sponsored by The Old Bath Arms, Frome, went to Fullback Rob Sully.
On Saturday 16th February Frome RFC (currently holding 2nd place) welcome 6th-placed Devizes RFC at Gypsy Lane.
