Frome RFC 1st XV match report

On Saturday the 1st XV took to the stage for their first home fixture of the league campaign; the club also opened its doors for the first VPs lunch, welcoming VPs from the visiting side, as well as our own and our club sponsors.

With the large crowd and the sun shining Frome RFC 1st took to the field to face Swindon College Old Boys RFC 1st with a good contest on the cards.

Frome RFC started the match well following a great week of preparation and were able to immediately put the visitors’ line under pressure. The Frome Forwards were carrying strongly and attacking with dominance. After 5 mins the first points of the day were scored when Winger Luc Thomas, standing in briefly at Scrum Half, spotted a gap close to the ruck and darted over for a try, the following conversion was kicked by James Howard. 

The home side continued to press and extended their lead shortly after when Hooker Will Button and Prop Elliott Bowler combined well to drive towards the visitors’ try line. After drawing in the defence, the ball was passed wide to Fly Half Dominic Jones who went over in the corner. 

Frome continued to dominate with the Centre partnership of Mike Rutt and Alistair Frost continually testing the Swindon College Old Boys backline. Hard work again from the Forwards saw No.8 Alex Mallon and Flanker Ross Toten break free and were rewarded when 1st XV Captain John Benstead was able to get away from a would-be tackler and dart over for another try which was converted by Howard. The visitors made a rare visit to Frome’s half and after some pressure were rewarded when they were awarded a penalty which the Winger slotted. 

Half Time: Frome RFC 1st 19 – 3 Swindon College Old Boys RFC 1st 

The Second Half started well with the Frome Forwards continuing their dominance and they increased their lead after a break by Bowler who was able to set up the ever present Forward Phil Meenan who was able to crash his way over and scored; the following conversion by Howard being added.

The relentless pressure continued to be applied by the home team and it wasn’t long until the men in Red, White and Black got themselves into another good position. Some good hands and set-piece work saw Mallon cross over for an unconverted try. Frome continued to accumulate points through 2 more penalties from the boot of man of the match, James Howard, and ran out convincing 38-3 winners

Final Score: Frome RFC 1st 38 – 3 Swindon College Old Boys RFC 1st 

Frome RFC 1st XV Captain John Benstead commented on the victory, “It was a massive performance from every single player, they all put 100% in and we fought every second of the game. It was a huge positive for the rest of the season and what we needed after last weekend.

“It was great to see that not only the 1st put a strong performance in, but this was followed by a fantastic display by both the 2nd and 3rd XV, giving the seniors a clean sweep of wins over the weekend.”

Head coach, Toby Culff said, “After a deeply disappointing 2nd half performance last week at Sherborne, and a nagging feeling all week that we’d missed a great opportunity to start the new season with a big away win, the players were incredibly motivated to put things right. 

“The fact that our opponent was SCOB this Saturday heightened the focus and added to the build-up. Though it certainly wasn’t a perfect performance, this was a massively dominant and physical display from the team, especially the forwards. If I was to be picky, I could say that the margin of victory should have been greater – we missed opportunities and left a lot of points on the field – but, hey, this was as comprehensive a victory as we’ve had in the last 2 or 3 years, and the players deserve enormous credit. 

“If they can play consistently at this level every week, we’ll be a force in this division. This was an 18-man effort and our bench warrants a special mention – Matt King, Rob James and Ben Tiley were terrific. Matt’s contribution and attitude this week was exemplary and he typified the team spirit that’s being built this year by the playing squad. Congrats also to the 2nd and 3rd teams who again earned great wins. What a weekend, well done everyone!”

The team has had some time to prepare for the next league fixture (29th Sept) which sees them travel to newcomers Thatchem RFC who haven’t had the best of starts following two losses. An unknown side at home, the men from Frome will have to be well prepared.

Matt Warnock