Frome RFC 1st welcomed Dorchester RFC 1st to Gypsy Lane on Saturday, hoping to continue their winning run in front of a large crowd, which included this season’s sponsors.
Frome started positively and were the first on the scoreboard with a try from No. 8 Alex Mallon who, from a 5 metre scrum, was able to pick and carry strongly over the line to score, the conversion being added by Winger Daniel Arbury.
The next score came after a flowing move involving all 15 players which created space for Arbury to score in the corner. Frome continued to dominate and after more pressure Man of the Match, Hooker Matt King, cut a great line to score under the posts for another converted try.
The next score for the home side came after a great break by Outside Centre, Calum Bonallo, who created the opportunity for Second Row James Howard to score a try, converted by Arbury. The scoring in the first half was completed when another passage of play involving all the team created an opening for Arbury to score in the corner.
Half Time: Frome RFC 1st 31 – 0 Dorchester RFC 1st
The home side started the second half determined to continue to dominate and after a penalty was kicked to the corner, Hooker King hit his jumper and from the resultant driving maul replacement Prop Geoff Taylor scored, unfortunately the kick going just wide.
Dorchester continued to defend doggedly and gained some reward when the visiting Scrum Half intercepted a misplaced pass in midfield, to score an unconverted try.
It was a wake-up call to some degree, which realigned the side’s game plan. Hard work from the forwards got the home side back into good territory and following a penalty 10 metres out from the visitors’ line, replacement flanker Cameron Hastie was quick to play the ball and caught the defence napping. He was held close to the line but was able to twist his way out to do the ball down over the line, the conversion being added.
The final try for the home side came after a number of phases through a combination of the Backs & Forwards and space was created for Inside Centre Ali Frost to crash over. Another win for the home side which cemented their position in the league.
Frome RFC head coach Toby Culff said, “Like Devizes in our last fixture, Dorchester are an old and familiar foe, and we’ve shared in dozens of tough encounters over the last couple of decades. We’re pleased they’re back in our league, so that the rivalry can be revived. The Frome performance was a pretty underwhelming one, despite the grand scoreline. We threw away as many opportunities as we took, and the substantial half time lead seemed to sap us of any urgency and ambition. When we were good, we were incredibly good, but unfortunately we weren’t good very often. To their credit, and exactly as we’d expected, Dorchester kept playing and kept defending until the very end, and the game was played in very good spirits.
“We’ll learn a lot from this game and it’ll be a springboard for better performances in the crucial weeks ahead. This is a phenomenal group of players who have set themselves very high standards this season. It’s hard to live up to them all the time but a 48-5 victory should always be enjoyed and celebrated. Huge congratulations to all three Frome teams for another ‘full house’ of victories and another brilliant afternoon.”
Frome are back in action on December 1st when they travel to 3rd place Yeovil RFC 1st, and with Frome sat in 2nd place 6 points ahead, this is certainly set to be an anticipated battle between the two Somerset sides.
Above: Cameron Hastie on his way to scoring. Photo: Morgan Sangster.
