Today we faced Matson who came from twenty-five miles beyond Lydney, and we thought Lydney was nearly abroad last season.
Matson came down with a playing record that needed to be popped, they have not lost in two seasons. That is some record. We did pop their balloon in the end but very nearly lost our pin to do so.

On a hot and largely windless afternoon, the spectators thought it lovely, I am not sure the players were so happy.

We started with a bang and scored under the crossbar inside three minutes, so quickly I forgot to record the moment, but from very shortly after the kick off full back Harrison Coonick got hold of the ball and ran as straight as an arrow down the middle of the pitch and under the crossbar to score. Probably no one was more surprised than him that he had got away without a finger being seriously laid on him.
It was a moment for the Matson supporters to slap their foreheads and think about throwing their pints on the ground. To be fair to Matson their tackling was good in the rest of the game, they had simply been caught tying their bootlaces, tidying their hair or adjusting their socks.
Kieran Down stepped up to put over a simple conversion. 7~0.

On ten minutes Matson were in the groove and scored a try and conversion in return. They kicked long towards the club side school end, our winger made a valiant effort to keep the ball in play, their linesman said he was in touch so the throw went to them.
They took the ball well into our half but short of the twenty-two, not bothering to maul ran at us and after three or four plays at our line Tom Porter barged his way over just south of the post. The simple conversion by Connor Gwilliam went over and the teams were level at 7~7.
On twenty-three minutes a yellow card to a player from each team, we lost Kieran Down for ten minutes.
On minute twenty-six we took the penalty and went for their line and got to about three feet from their line on a couple of occasions before they stole the ball off us and kicked long well into our half, we collected and kicked back, the ball touched one of their player's hands who was jumping to try and block it, it flew over his head and into their half in line with the posts. Joe Daley, as props do, was making his way back and had got to their twenty-two when to his surprise the referee shouted last him “You are in play”, he reacted quickly and caught the ball cleanly and started to run for the line, probably thinking to himself ‘It’s a long way to go on a hot afternoon’ he could see the two wingers both running in to try and stop him, so he told me afterwards. To his credit he made it and fell over the line close to the turnstile end post, as he went down I could see he had done something to his knee.
He waved his hands in the air for assistance, Mulldog and Paris-May came racing on and examined the stricken Joe, Mulldog examined his leg with a professional air, the Entonox was turned on with a hiss. He may have taken a puff or two but then seemed to say he was okay, he was lifted up and walked off with only a marginal limp.
He had scored a decent if unexpected try and back in the changing rooms later probably ended up going from hero to drama queen in a second. He told me later he had just twisted it slightly and would be okay for next week.
Matt Nyle added the conversion and we were 14~7 up.
From the restart it looked, from the far end, like the ball went deep and was not caught but kicked back towards our posts, the ball was gathered and played towards the scoreboard then an attacking run at them with the ball going through a few hands lastly from Aiden Taylor to Shaun Crawford who handed off a defender to dive over. The conversion was missed. 19~7.
Matson came back with a try by Josh Caxton. Thirty-six minutes and they kicked long that gave us a lineout, whoever caught it looked as if he fell back in the effort and spilled the ball forwards, they quickly took advantage of it and attacked along the line towards the club side then back towards the stand and scored through a gap in the defence.
The Connor Gwillian conversion went over. 19~14.
Both yellow cards came back on the pitch on minute thirty-seven but shortly afterwards a second Matson player had the yellow cards waved at him.
Luke Stannard was carried off with a hamstring injury.
On forty-five minutes Matson kicked long and the referee was going to allow the line out near our twenty-two when, encouraged by the crowd, took the play back for going straight into touch.
We took the line-out at the back, played it along the line and to Freddie Davies who, from halfway across their twenty-two, ran in to score under some pressure from a defender.
The Kieran Down conversion, from near the sideline, went over. 26~14.
With that half-time.
Both sides playing well, and the lineouts were good for both sides. We were on top in the scrums but after Joe Daley went off it evened up with Matson just on top.

The second half and a penalty to Kieran Down from about six feet into their half and midline, 29~14.
At this point, we looked to be on top and pulling ahead slightly.
Then a try to Matson, they were penalised for tackling our catcher in the air, it was marginal he could only have been a foot or so off the ground, but took exception to the tackle and the penalty was reversed because of it. They went for a lineout and took it and sent it across the field then won a scrum to one side of the posts and close in, they won it and attacked once for Aaron Morefield to score, the Connor Gwillian conversion was easy and they were back in it at 29~21.
We had a chance to score a little later but the long throw was overthrown and a chance missed because our maul had been working well and we quite likely would have scored from it.
As it was Matson scored on twenty-four minutes, they worked down to near our line and won a scrum, they played it across the pitch to score on the stand side with Jack Knight going over. Conner Gwillian converted and the gap was a narrow 29~28.
A close lineout to us was long and not really straight but Liam Jarvis did an amazing long stretch to take it one handed over their player's heads. We played towards their line but play stopped with Liam having a problem with his leg. A second lineout was won but they drove us back and stole the ball from us, they kicked out but the ball did not go far and James Hocking caught it and went blind but was stopped short, we then played it across the field but the referee took us back for an infringement. A third line out and we took it and sent the ball down the line for Dylan Daley to score in the corner, Kieran Down converted. 36~28.
With the clock down to seven or eight minutes to go we were two scores up and looking safe. However, we collected a second yellow card.
Matson kicked a penalty to close the gap to 36~31, fortunately they gave away a penalty that Kieran Down kicked to regain our two score advantage. 39~31.
We had one last lineout midfield but lost the ball, they ran at us down the left wing and got in close, the defence managed to stop him and prevented a supporting player from taking the ball on to quite likely score and that was it the whistle for full time was sounded.
A really well refereed game.
An entertaining game played in good spirit but a shade scrappy at some moments, and it could have gone one way or the other.

Matson are a good team, their players have come through their youth and Colts system, and don't pay their players which is good to see.
Their backs and scrum half played really well, their lineout was almost faultless. They should do well in the league.
Liam Jarvis was the Nigel Chivell memorial man-of-the-match for us, his tankard was presented by the club Chairman Ben Stafford, and later as Shaun Crawford announced at the drinks for the man-of-the-match and so on “The Man of the match for Matson is the good looking No 10.”
Connor, the aforesaid No 10, won the drinking standing with the others on the benches outside “ Not only good looking” he said finishing his pint.
And so we ended the afternoon in third place in the league.

Photos thanks to Jo Hocking. Photos by Jo Hocking, Click here.

Photos by Mike Yeats Photos by Mike Yeats, click here.