After narrowly missing out on promotion last season the men of Frome RFC have been preparing well in the off season, and anticipating the first league fixture at home against Swindon College Old Boys RFC.
The first points of the day came after 7mins following early pressure, Frome were awarded a penalty. New signing and centre Darrell Thompson took the shot at the sticks but hit the post, Frome reacted first and quickly recycled the ball for Winger Rob Sully to score out wide. Thompson converted the try.
The visitors scored a Converted Try straight from the kick off when a mix up in the home defence saw the visiting centre score.
Frome retook the lead when they were awarded a penalty in front which Thompson converted but the visitors were then awarded a penalty of their own to tie up the scores.
Frome’s pack continued to dominate and from a line out scored a second try through No.8 Alex Mallon who followed this up with another just before half time to take a 20-10 lead at half time.
Swindon College Old Boys kicked a penalty shortly after kick off and brought the score back to 20-13.
The home side then lost a player to the bin as second row Connor McPherson was deemed to have taken the man out in the air but continued to press and after a number of penalties close to the line, No.8 Mallon completed his hat trick of tries.
A dropped ball in midfield gave the visitors another try to bring the score to 25-20. Frome however were resolute and saw out the last 10 mins for a first win of the season.
The Man of the Match awards, sponsored by The Old Bath Arms, went to winger Rob Sully and prop Kieran Storey.
Head coach Toby Culff commented, “Losing our first game of the season was a real blow last year so we were determined to start with a win this time. We’ve prepared well and we were able to name a strong squad, so we felt confident going into this fixture.
“Our early try should have given us the perfect platform but conceding from the resultant restart really halted our momentum and subdued our confidence. Unfortunately, it was a day on which we often followed excellent phases of play with inexcusable sloppiness.
“Of the 20 points scored by SCOB, I believe only 3 of them were earned. The rest were frankly gifted to them. That’s not to say they were pushovers, however, and their physicality and perseverance challenged us until the very end.
“This was a real test for us and we’ll be better for it. We need to work hard now to eradicate the unnecessary mistakes and build our confidence. I feel certain that we’ll progress significantly in the weeks ahead. Credit to the players for digging deep and ensuring that we got off to a winning start.”
