Frome’s First win on the road

Saturday 5th March Buckingham RFC 7 Frome RFC 12

THE Frome RFC 1st XV travelled to Buckingham RFC, looking to build on the previous week’s home win over Trowbridge.

The home side kicked off in front of a large crowd, putting Frome immediately on the defensive but the Frome line held strong with some great defence typified by superb tackling by centre Davin Jones.

The first 30 minutes were scoreless with both sets of forwards battling it out, being led by Captain Alex Mallon and Connor McPherson. An injury to hooker, Matt King after a break meant an early introduction and welcome return for Simon Travers, who made his first appearance of the year. The deadlock was broken when a dropped a ball in midfield was pounced on by the Buckingham winger, who sped away to then release his support player to score under the posts for a converted try.

Frome turned around knowing that they were still in the game, and the second half started with the visitors pressing hard with the forwards being directed by scrum half Simon Westlake; they were finally rewarded when after a number of penalties, centre Ali Frost tapped to score a try, the conversion being added by full back Darrell Thompson.

Frome took the lead when Buckingham dropped the ball in midfield and full back Thompson kicked the ball forward and managed to regather to offload to winger Henry Bull, who outpaced the cover defence to score. The conversion by Dominic Jones hit the post. The home side pressed hard in the last 20 mins, but excellent defence by the Frome side kept them at bay despite going down to 14 men for the last ten minutes due to a yellow card.

A first win on the road and an added boast for the side sees them jump up to 12th in South West 1 East, with Buckingham and Grove now below them. Player of The Match – Captain Alex Mallon. Disappointing defeat Saturday 12th March Frome RFC 12 Chippenham RFC 37 THE Frome RFC 1st XV welcomed Chippenham RFC to The Lane on Saturday, on a sunny but windy day. With some wins under the belt and some recent good form, Alex Mallon’s men looked to take the momentum into what was set to be a tough fixture at home.

The game started well for Frome who were able to set phases of play together before Winger Henry Bull scored out wide, the kick unfortunately going just wide. Chippenham’s large pack gained multiple yards and field position, and it’s wasn’t long until their possession turned to points. Another try from the visitors saw them extend their lead.

A play straight from the training field saw Centre Dav Jones crash through Chippenham’s defensive line. A penalty in front of the posts saw the visitors extend their lead just before the half-time whistle. The second half saw Chippenham regain dominance and capitalised on some Frome mistakes and good control to see out the game.

Frome had several chances to get themselves on the scoreboard, with some good breaks, but the opportunities went missing with passes not going to hand. Frome RFC Captain, Alex Mallon said, “It’s a disappointing result, the players have worked extremely hard over the last few weeks, and the results have matched that. The performance in the first have showed that we have the squad to mix it with the best. Unfortunately, Chippenham were stronger in the second half and we leaked in some easy tries. We have a weekend off, so will prepare well and regain that good form for our trip to Witney.”

Player of The Match went to Flanker JJ Gagiano and Fly Half Dom Jones. This Saturday, 19th March, sees Frome RFC take a break from league fixtures, but are in Cup action on Thursday 17th March when they welcome Midsomer Norton RFC to The Lane in the Bath Combination Cup. Frome return to League action on March 26th, when they travel to 6th place Witney.

The Frome RFC 2nd XV were due to be in league action on Saturday but visitors Minety RFC 1st XV were unable to raise a side, meaning Frome gained the full 5pts.

Elsewhere in Dorset & Wilts 1 North saw the results go Frome’s way meaning they regain the top spot by a point, but still have a game in hand, which is due to be played this Saturday when they make the short trip in the rearranged fixture to Westbury RFC 1st XV.