Sat. 16th April. Frome RFC 24 Newbury 17
FROME RFC welcomed 4th placed Newbury RFC to Gypsy Lane on Saturday 16th April.
The game started with the home side playing up the slight slope and the Newbury Blues were immediately putting pressure on the Frome line, however stout defence held them out for the first 24 minutes. A scrum on the Frome line released full back Bailey Rusz up the left touchline, supported by Winger Finn McNulty who made 80 metres and won a penalty and from the resultant line out, hooker John Benstead touched down for the first points of the day.
Frome continued to battle up the hill with some great tackling with JJ Gagiano leading the defence and the front row of Geoff Taylor John Benstead and Elliott Bowler starting to get on top in the scrums. But with Frome down to 14 men, Newbury hit back for a converted try, for a 7-5 lead at half time. Frome started strongly in the second half with the forwards, led by captain Alex Mallon and flanker Will Button and the back line marshalled by Dom Jones.
However, Newbury increased their lead when a Frome indiscretion at the breakdown gave the visitors the opportunity to kick a penalty. Frome regained the lead when a deft inside ball from scrum half, Simon Westlake, allowed Player of The Match, Elliott Bowler, to crash over from 5 metres; converted by Ali Frost. The Frome replacements of George Benstead, Matt King and Dav Jones added further energy and Frome extended their lead to 19-10 when, after good work by Mike Rutt, his centre partner, Frost, burst over from close range. This prompted a response from the visitors but great defence from all the team including Connor McPherson and the returning Ross Toten kept the visitors at bay.
A dropped ball in the Frome 22 was pounced on by Dav Jones who raced clear, kicked ahead and gathered his own kick, he then off loaded to Rob Sully to score in the corner. With 5 minutes left Newbury scored out wide, superbly converted to bring them within 7 points. The final 5 minutes saw Frome defend strongly to see out a memorable win. Head coach, Toby Culff, said after the game, “One of our targets for this year was to beat one of the four big teams at home. We came up short, sometimes by very little, with our first three attempts, but none of those teams found their visit to Frome an easy one. “All three, I think, were a little relieved to get out of town with a win.
So, this game against Newbury – a club of such pedigree – became very important to us. We wanted to show the league and our supporters that we could topple a club of this quality. We wanted to prove it to ourselves, too. “Oddly, we actually played pretty poorly in the first half but we stayed in touch. Some of the last-ditch defence was magnificent.
We felt very confident turning around at halftime, facing only a two-point deficit. “In the 2nd half, the players were incredible; it was brave and fullhearted, packed with determination and desire. It was fantastic to watch and the tries were exciting and expertly finished. Most pleasing of all was the character of the performance and the bravery displayed in defence. Well done and thank you to everyone involved.
“After the final whistle, the whole team was thrilled to learn of the 2nd team’s victory. Massive congratulations to them. Their success is richly deserved and a source of enormous pride for the entire club. “A great result for the last home match of the season and we look forward to the final league fixture away to Marlborough RFC.
“The players and staff would like to thank all of the supporters for their support this year.” Saturday 2nd April. Grove RFC 28 Frome RFC 24 FROME travelled to Oxfordshire to meet old adversaries Grove RFC. Frome started well with the forwards carrying hard but stern defence kept them at bay and after a Frome knock on Grove worked their way down the pitch for the first score.
Frome responded quickly with big carries from Alex Chalmers and Miles Davies creating the opportunity for the backs to put a training ground move in to practice. Henry Bull released full-back Bailey Rusz to score in the corner; the try was converted by James Howard to bring the scores level. The scores remained level until just before half time when from a scrum, Grove retook the lead with a converted try and lead 14-7 at half-time.
Frome started the second half pressuring the Grove try line and it paid off when replacement Connor McPherson scored and Howard converted to bring the scores level. With Grove down to 14 men after their No.8 was sin binned, Frome took the lead when Howard crashed over. The turning point came when, with Frome pressing the home line, a pass was intercepted, and the Grove winger raced the length of the field for a converted try to give his side the lead.
A further converted try by Grove increased the lead to 9 points; however Frome dug deep and on the last play of the game scored a fourth try through Ali Frost to gain the bonus points. Player of the match was awarded to full-back Bailey Rusz, however special mention goes the front row of Geoff Taylor, Alex Chalmers and Elliott Bowler who scrummaged well throughout and James Howard, and to Rob Sully for filling in in the back row. Reports by Trevor Osborne.
