Batchelor’s heroics are in vain
Avon’s three-match winning run came to an end at Minehead.
They suffered a number of setbacks in the first half and, despite an excellent comeback, could only salvage a losing bonus point.
Avon started brightly and their set-piece was dominant throughout the game.
This was despite losing prop Chris Mutlow after only five minutes. He was replaced by Ian Burnell, who put in a man-of-thematch performance.
The visitors looked by far the most likely to open the scoring before Minehead winger Kyle Lewis made an interception and sprinted in from 40 metres to give the home side the lead.
Avon responded with a Johnny Batchelor penalty, but soon found themselves further behind when a loose ball was hacked through for James Day to win the race to the touchdown on the opposite wing.
Minehead’s defence was strong all afternoon. They withheld assault after assault as Avon battered their goal line.
Although there may have been an element of luck about Minehead’s first two tries, the same could not be said about their third, which followed a multi-phased attack and was finished off by Jacob Gower, who cut an excellent line back down the slope to score under the posts.
Fly half Joel Lynch converted all three tries to set up a healthy 21-3 lead.
Avon’s misfortunes did not improve as they lost scrum half Kiddie Sheikh to injury just before half-time after he was held up just short of the try line following a searing break down the blind side.
Although faced with a daunting deficit, Avon had enjoyed plenty of possession and control and just needed a change of tactics to break the stubborn Minehead defence.
Coach Kai Harwood made a few subtle changes and immediately got the result he wanted. Having stretched the home team’s defence up the slope, Avon switched play for the pacy Batchelor to get outside of the defence for a wellworked try. He then added the extras.
The visitors continued to take the game to Minehead and were rewarded again 15 minutes later when a sustained attack saw skipper Kane Book float a lovely pass to Batchelor, who sprinted away to score in the top corner to take his tally for the day to 15 points.
Avon dominated possession in the last quarter of the game but were thwarted time and time again. Zak Harwood, Tom Boreham and Xander Davis all made big inroads into the defensive wall, but could not get though a battling Minehead defence as the clock ticked down.
For the last few minutes of the game, Avon were camped on the Minehead line, giving the large home crowd some anxious moments, but in the end they could not get over for the winning try and had to settle for the bonus point.
■ Avonvale
Avonvale welcomed Walcot to the Crown Field to play the sides’ first league fixture for over 20 years.
Walcot raced into an early 7-0 lead, scoring a try near the posts after going through several phases of play.
Vale responded by securing a penalty, which was converted by Sam Fellows.
Ten minutes later, Vale took the lead when they disrupted a Walcot five-metre scrum and shoved them back over their line for Number 8 Joe Vowles to touch down. The successful conversion by Fellows made it 10-7.
Unfortunately that was as good as it got for Vale as Walcot regained the lead moments later.
In the second half, Walcot produced probably their best performance of the season, and Vale by far their worst. Walcot dominated, with Vale struggling to get out of their own half, and the visitors added another three tries to give them a convincing 31-10 victory.
■ TEAM BATH
Aaron James praised the belief and character of his players after Team Bath produced their best performance of the campaign to beat BUCS Super Rugby high-fliers Loughborough at the Sports Training Village.
The Rengen-sponsored men’s 1st XV were outstanding in every aspect in blustery conditions.
They turned a narrow 15-14 deficit at the break into an excellent bonus-point 33-20 victory, thanks to some disciplined defending and expansive, confident attacking play. It was the perfect response to last week’s disappointing home defeat to Leeds Beckett and James, head of rugby at the University of Bath, said: “I’m so proud of the boys and the character shown in attack and defence. There was a pretty strong wind and we’ve crumbled in those conditions in the past, but I think our belief and the way we played will stick in our minds.
“We’ve been really disappointed with the way we’ve played recently, but the boys got together on Friday and were really honest about what we had to do. We just weren’t believing in ourselves enough – creating opportunities but not taking them, giving away too many penalties. We turned that around and that’s the most pleasing thing.
“We were down to 14 men at the start of the second half and still wanted to attack. We actually scored during that time, but that’s the belief. We needed that result and it’s reward for all of the hard work. Mike Hill has done a lot of work with the forwards, and our defence and set-piece was outstanding.”
Loughborough went into the match sitting second in the table and took the lead within three minutes, prop Jack Bertinet – a former King Edward’s Bath pupil and son of renowned Bath-based baker Richard Bertinet – driving over from a lineout maul.
Team Bath responded immediately – scrum half George Wootten diving over the line following good footwork off the back of a maul by returning lock Ed Ashcroft. Bevan Howells’ successful conversion edged the hosts into a 7-5 lead.
They doubled their advantage midway through the first half when a well-worked period of pressure on the Loughborough line ended with Tom Black being adjudged to have touched down following some careful deliberation by referee Andy Wigley. Howells again added the extras.
Back came Loughborough, and while Team Bath were able to stop a charging Henri Lavin just short of the line, the ball was quickly recycled for lock David Douglas Bridge to power over. Charlie Titcombe’s conversion cut the gap to two.
The remainder of the half was a midfield battle, with both teams enjoying periods of possession but finding the opposition defence in resolute mood.
However, with just seconds to go, a fumble in the Bath 22 gave Loughborough possession and as Ashcroft tried to retrieve the ball, he was penalised and yellow-carded. The visitors chose to go for the posts and Titcombe’s successful kick – the last of the half – gave them a narrow 15-14 advantage.
Team Bath were still down to 14 men for the opening stages of the second half, but set the tone for a fantastic 40 minutes by retaining possession superbly and patiently moving the ball around, probing for an opening.
It came in the 48th minute when number 8 Harry Breeze ran onto a smart inside pass from Rahul Patel and cut through the visiting defence for a fine try, which was again converted by Howells.
Back to full strength, Team Bath were organised and disciplined as they prevented Loughborough from finding any sustained rhythm. The frustrated visitors tried to force the play, and a stray pass was picked off by Cal Barrett, who produced some brilliant footwork to step past the last defender before holding the chasing pack at bay as he raced from his own half for the bonus-point try.
Howells’ conversion stretched the lead to 28-15 with an hour played, but Loughborough got back into the contest in the 70th minute when Teddy Leatherbarrow touched down from a rolling maul. The conversion was missed, however, to leave Team Bath with a two-score cushion.
Some outstanding defending prevented Loughborough from taking advantage of another lineout, and a turnover with three minutes to go was cheered like a winning try as Team Bath dug deep to protect their lead.
There was an even bigger cheer in the closing stages as captain George Cave burrowed over from a lineout drive to seal a memorable victory.
Team Bath’s final match before the festive break saw them make the short journey to Gloucester to face local rivals Hartpury last night, after the Chronicle had gone to press. Their next home match is against Cardiff on January 26 (6.30pm).
■ COMBE Down
To mark the club’s 125th anniversary, a day of rugby and celebrations are being held on Saturday (December 18) on what is believed to be the date of the first game.
Events start with Combe Down Under 13s playing against Walcot Boys at noon. Then at 2pm, Combe Down 1st XV play against Walcot.
After that Combe Down Girls with partners in rugby Walcat Girls will play against Broadplain at 6pm.
This will be another milestone in the club’s history with the girls’ team playing thier first home game.
All are invited to enjoy the day of food, rugby, music and celebrations lasting into the evening.