16 Dec 2007 - Taunton U14s 17 - Nailsea& Backwell U14s 31
First round, Somerset Cup, and a tough draw for N&B,Taunton away, and a distinct feeling that the home side and supporters were expecting to comfortably turn over the visitors. They were to be proved wrong.
Taunton kicked off, playing with the breeze, firm pitch, on a bitterly cold day. The first quarter was played at a furious pace, both sides testing each other, with N&B eventually forcing a line out on theTaunton 5 metre line. The N&B pack stole the lineout and formed an awesome rolling maul that trundled ominously over the line before monster lock Elliott Cheesewright peeled off to plunge over the line, to take a 0 ? 5 lead.
Taunton replied immediately, quick hands and pace producing a good try to level the score at 5 ? 5. N&B immediately upped the tempo, however it wasTaunton who capitalised on a turnover and once again scored a well worked try under the posts, 12 ? 5 to the home side.
N&B came back with a vengeance, forced a Taunton fumble and winger Troy Atkinson once again showed there is no defence against pace and scorched in from 50 metres to silence the home crowd, converted to level at 12 ? 12. The referee blew for half time, with the game wide open.
Whatever coaches Mark Wilson and Kevin Spencer said at half time, it certainly stirred up the visitors. At the restart the N&B pack simply tore into the home 8, once again picking, driving, mauling and shunting Taunton backwards. It was the leader of the wrecking crew, Cheesewright who finally broke off to batter his way over, leaving a trail of flattened defenders. Skipper Mitch Spencer converted to open a 12 ? 19 lead.
N&B piled on the pressure, both Atkinson and Spencer had tries disallowed, before Spencer darted over from a 5 metre scrum for a classic scrum half try, converted for a 12 ? 26 lead. It should have been curtains for Taunton, however they were let back in the game, scoring another good try to come back to 17 ? 26. Finally more N&B pressure forced a fumble in defence, seized on by Jack Fairs who cleverly chipped ahead and won the race for the touchdown, finally making the game safe, much to the relief of the visiting supporters and coaches.
So, into the next round, however lessons to be learned. Taunton were starved of possession and territory for 75% of the match, yet took almost every scoring opportunity. Without two try saving tackles from fullback Myles Pillay and another from Atkinson, the outcome could have been different. N&B should have won more comfortably, and will need to be more clinical with their scoring chances to move into the final stages of the tournament. Nonetheless an exciting game, great win and terrific team performance, with every player in the squad fully contributing, well done lads.
Tries: Conversions:
Cheesewright 2 Spencer 3
Atkinson
Spencer
Fairs
Taunton kicked off, playing with the breeze, firm pitch, on a bitterly cold day. The first quarter was played at a furious pace, both sides testing each other, with N&B eventually forcing a line out on theTaunton 5 metre line. The N&B pack stole the lineout and formed an awesome rolling maul that trundled ominously over the line before monster lock Elliott Cheesewright peeled off to plunge over the line, to take a 0 ? 5 lead.
Taunton replied immediately, quick hands and pace producing a good try to level the score at 5 ? 5. N&B immediately upped the tempo, however it wasTaunton who capitalised on a turnover and once again scored a well worked try under the posts, 12 ? 5 to the home side.
N&B came back with a vengeance, forced a Taunton fumble and winger Troy Atkinson once again showed there is no defence against pace and scorched in from 50 metres to silence the home crowd, converted to level at 12 ? 12. The referee blew for half time, with the game wide open.
Whatever coaches Mark Wilson and Kevin Spencer said at half time, it certainly stirred up the visitors. At the restart the N&B pack simply tore into the home 8, once again picking, driving, mauling and shunting Taunton backwards. It was the leader of the wrecking crew, Cheesewright who finally broke off to batter his way over, leaving a trail of flattened defenders. Skipper Mitch Spencer converted to open a 12 ? 19 lead.
N&B piled on the pressure, both Atkinson and Spencer had tries disallowed, before Spencer darted over from a 5 metre scrum for a classic scrum half try, converted for a 12 ? 26 lead. It should have been curtains for Taunton, however they were let back in the game, scoring another good try to come back to 17 ? 26. Finally more N&B pressure forced a fumble in defence, seized on by Jack Fairs who cleverly chipped ahead and won the race for the touchdown, finally making the game safe, much to the relief of the visiting supporters and coaches.
So, into the next round, however lessons to be learned. Taunton were starved of possession and territory for 75% of the match, yet took almost every scoring opportunity. Without two try saving tackles from fullback Myles Pillay and another from Atkinson, the outcome could have been different. N&B should have won more comfortably, and will need to be more clinical with their scoring chances to move into the final stages of the tournament. Nonetheless an exciting game, great win and terrific team performance, with every player in the squad fully contributing, well done lads.
Tries: Conversions:
Cheesewright 2 Spencer 3
Atkinson
Spencer
Fairs