Weston are not having a good season so their linesman told me. They lie at the bottom of the table. We, on the other hand, are having a good one. Last week away pushing top-of-the-table Chew Valley all the way, even preventing them scoring a try when prior to the game they have been winning at home by an average of 59~10. So you might have expected us to trample on Weston from the off.
Not really. They put up a great fight and while we eased ahead it was pedantic. We were always in control but not really dominating. They had a very strong pack and used it well causing us all sorts of problems.

Playing towards the school end we opened the scoring inside two minutes, from the kick off we attacked them and got to their twenty-two but they drove us back to near halfway, still in control of the ball we sent it through the backs to Liam Jarvis who was loitering on the wing in front of the stand, he sped off down the touchline and crossed without much trouble. The conversion was missed. 5~0.
Not long after that Tom Davies repeated the previous try but this time was able to go in behind the posts to give Kieran Down an easy conversion. 12~0.

Twenty-eight minutes and Kieran Down kicked an easy penalty from in front of the posts and not far out. 15~0.
Thirty-one minutes and a second Liam Jarvis try, playing out of our own half and across the field, Billy Sutton had a good run them to Toby Knowles then when he was tackled to the other backs and across the pitch to Liam Jarvis to score about halfway in from the corner flag, the Keiran Down conversion sailed over the bar.
22~0.
Sometimes you watch a game and feel that their linesman needs a pair of glasses or at least wears a pair with thick lenses. Not the Weston linesman, Rob Harris, who was fair and fair can be, their player was running fast down the line on the club side when he was on about halfway he was delicately tackled, enough to put him off balance but he kept his feet, however, his foot grazed the white tips of the grass on the line, up want his flag and we had a line out. He could have gone on a scored a try. I like that sort of linesman.
Just before the break we had a scrum on the far side and won with Mark Friend picking up and giving it to the backs who ran it on, a pass fell to the ground, they fly hacked it on and there was a foot race with Billy Sutton racing for us, as the pair and the ball got close to the try line, their man with Billy Sutton shoulder to shoulder with him decided to give the ball a further small touch and take his chance on the dive over the line, Unfortunately for him we have one of the shortest dead ball areas in the world and his tap on pushed it into the fence.
Half time and 22~0. As I said we were definitely in control but not dominating them fully, but with a decent lead and a Weston who did not look like overtaking us.

With the Under 14s as ballboys working hard on the sidelines, the second half kicked off with Shaun Crawford having a capital run from just about our twenty-two to nearly theirs.
Then one of those joyous wingers runs we all like to watch when Charlie Groves, in his debut game for the firsts, ran along the sideline from about halfway and in front of the stand and over the line to score on about ten minutes. Kieran Down converted. 29~0.
Three minutes later a try by Tom Davies from a lineout on the clubhouse side and along the line ending with another textbook winger's fast run in to score.
Kieran Down converting. 36~0.

Mark Friend then had a lovely run from one twenty-two to the other, it then went to the backs who chipped through for the winger but it dribbled into touch, but we then stole their throw.
Then another try, we got up to their twenty-two and won a penalty which I think we tapped and went the ball going along the line and down the wing and in for Toby Knowles 41~0.
On twenty minutes. just about from the off we won a penalty and went for a clubhouse side lineout that we won, the pack started to maul but the front two thirds of players fell over, and the ball at the back went to Aiden Taylor who had quite a decently long run in two score, punching the ball into the air as he got up.
The Kieran Down conversion went over. 48~0.

Now we were starting to apply the squeeze on Weston and you felt their dam had cracks in it. Cracks there may have been but it did not stop them trying. On twenty-three minutes they fitfully attacked us in our half and got right to our line, they drove at it about four times then came back in toward the posts for George Nuttcombe, in his debut game for their firsts, to cross and score. Archie Tilley had an easy conversion and they were on the board. 48~7.
Thirty-six minutes and a final try and this to Tom Davies, for his second, they were attacking us but we turned them over, Billy Sutton got the ball running with Tom Davis getting away from a shirttail grab to score, the conversion by Kieran Down went over. 55~7.
Not long after that, the final whistle went and the result was a decent win.
I was impressed with the line breaks of Shaun Crawford, and Bill Sutton, in his debut game and in only his second season of senior rugby looked quite settled in the scrum-half position.
Dylan Daley, who has been injured, came to watch, as he walked down the path towards the scoreboard I joked to him “I hear you are now the second team scrum half” ‘Don’t start rumours like that” he said taking a draught from his can of something. He will be back in post soon.
Barnstaple lost to Launceston so we moved up a place in the league to third.

The 1st team v Weston-super-Mare.
1. Rikki Bentham.
2. Aiden Taylor.
3. Oli Symons.
4. Kyle Felton.
5. Mike Rickard (vc).
6. Andy Pond.
7. Liam Jarvis.
8. Mark Friend.
9. Billy Sutton.
10. Tom West.
11. Toby Knowles.
12. Shaun Crawford. (c)
13. Tom Davies.
14. Matt Neyle.
15. Kieran Down.
16. Tony Sibley.
17. Charlie Groves.
18. Matt Richards.