By Dave Fox

AN UNDERSTRENGTH Thornbury fought back against a tough Newent side to earn a victory and leapfrog Newent into second spot.

Thornbury maintained control and applied pressure on their hosts who lost their composure and discarded the game plan that had seen them ease into an early 12-0 lead.

With the injury list increasing after the match with Bridgwater several changes had to be made.

With Rob Higgitt, Tom Luke, Sam Higgins, Tim Stephens, Mike Gaston, Will Sharratt and Harry Glew not available a considerable shuffling of the backline was required.

Alfie Richardson moved to fullback, Wayne Underwood came in at outside half and Rich Bennett moved in to centre.

James Donohue and fit-again Mike Beswick started on the wings. In the forwards Jack Hussey was forced to step down to the bench through illness.

George Maggs moved back to No.8 with James Murray coming in at lock. Louis Osborne started at six whilst Dalton Tice made his first start for Thorns in the front row with Jonny Heaven unable to play.

Three forwards occupied the bench with Jack Hussey joined by Dave Watchorn and Luke Workman.

Newent were two points ahead of Thornbury but had lost their three-year unbeaten home record to Weston earlier in the season.

Last season Newent were arguably the toughest side Thornbury faced and another fierce encounter seemed likely.

With Weston running away with the league it already seemed that the winner of the fixtures between these sides would be in pole position for a top two finish.

 Thornbury kicked off under a heavy cloud but Newent, who had been warming up for 90 minutes before the game, were fired-up and launched an attack down their right and made good ground before being bundled into touch. The tone for the afternoon had been set. This was going to be a thrilling game.

Thorns conceded penalties at the first two lineouts and conceded possession and territory to Newent. Their excellent halfbacks James Dean and Tom Webb kicked well and put pressure on Thornbury.

Then dominant Newent began to have the edge in the scrum but the Thornbury defence was sound. However Newent were getting amongst the Thornbury side and Thorns were not protecting the ball or Bob Adams well enough.

With eleven minutes gone Newent attacked down the right and after several phases an accurate cross-kick found wing Andrew Smith unmarked and he scored out wide. The conversion missed but Newent had a deserved 5-0 lead.

From the restart a well-chased Garryowen from Dean caused havoc in the Thornbury defence but a knock-on denied Newent a good chance for a second try.

Thorns were struggling to get their hands on the ball and the first quarter was nearing its end before they launched a meaningful attack. Good passing put Dai Matthews clear, he handed off one player and passed inside to James Donohue but he was tackled and the ball returned to Newent. They continued to punt the ball into the corners or move the ball through the backs and put Thorns under pressure.

James Wood and Sam Evans carried well but Thornbury were guilty of kicking the ball away, and kicking badly.

Newent went further ahead on twenty-two minutes when Dean broke from a scrum at pace, and was away before the Thornbury back row knew what was happening. He was stopped deep in the Thornbury ‘22’ but after several phases the ball was moved wide and centre Will Mansfield crashed over for the try. Webb converted and at 12-0 Newent were in control.

But Thornbury knuckled down. Luke Workman came on for Dalton Tice and Alfie Richardson set off on a dangerous run for the first time.

Thornbury’s defence kept out another dangerous Newent attack and cleared up-field. Seconds later Thorns were unlucky when Newent mishandled in mid-field on their ‘22’ and Dai Matthews hacked the ball on. The ball ricocheted off the centre’s thigh but he was called back for a knock-on.

Thornbury were now getting on top and quelled the fervour of the Newent side.

A good scrum yielded a penalty but Bob Adams’ kick was just wide. From the drop-out Thorns attacked again and good running from Rich Bennett, Alfie Richardson and Dai Matthews took play to the Newent line but the home side were penalised again. With four minutes to halftime Bob Adams went for goal and opened Thornbury’s account.

Newent restarted and Thornbury ran the ball back. A Bennett break put Thorns behind the first line of the Newent defence. Good passing put Liam Pemberton clear and he fed Dai Matthews fifteen metres out. He cut inside one player then drove through a second and scored an outstanding try. Bob Adams converted as the referee blew for halftime with Thorns back in the game only trailing 12-10.

The lead-up to the try proved expensive for both sides. Rich Bennett was helped off with a broken hand and home fullback Ozzie Garlick suffered an upper arm injury. Both players were taken to hospital. Thorns were thus forced into a further reshuffle with Louis Osborne withdrawn from the pack to the wing and Mike Beswick moving to centre and Jack Hussey coming on. George Maggs moved to second row with James Murray replaced by Dave Watchorn.

The Thornbury forwards began to control the exchanges and Newent began to concede an increasing number of penalties as their discipline deteriorated. Thornbury played measured, controlled rugby as things got increasingly frantic in the Newent team.

Mysteriously, instead of continuing with the tactics of the first half that had caused problems for Thornbury through moving the ball and accurate kicking they kept the ball tight and tried to barge through the Thornbury pack. Thorns were water-tight.

As the game entered the final quarter Thorns won a lineout on the Newent ‘22’ and drove a maul to five metres from the line where it ended when Newent illegally halted the drive. Thorns kicked the next penalty to the corner and from the second driving lineout they drove over with Sam Evans getting the ball down. Bob Adams converted and Thornbury were 17-12 ahead.

Thornbury now looked the side most likely to win but Newent are an excellent side and a five point lead was insufficient. Thornbury now bossed the loose play with Dave Watchorn having a fine match. The Thornbury pack harried and disrupted Newent, and were now on top at the scrum.

Newent defended well to keep Thornbury out then as the game went into stoppage time Thorns put the result beyond doubt. Bob Adams charged through the Newent pack from a lineout and broke clear. As he was tackled in the Newent ‘22’ he passed inside to Watchorn who shrugged off one tackle and sprinted for the corner and dived over close to the flag. The conversion went wide but at 22-12 Thornbury were out of sight.

There was time for Newent to restart but they lost control in contact and Adams gratefully hoofed the ball to touch and the referee blew for the end of the match.

Thornbury will have to be at their best again next Saturday for an awkward game with North Petherton, kick off is 2:30.

Scorers: Thornbury: tries – Dai Matthews, Sam Evans and Dave Watchorn; conversions – Bob Adams (2); penalty – Bob Adams.

Newent: tries – Andrew Smith and Will Mansfield; conversion – Tom Webb.

Teams: Thornbury: Alfie Richardson; James Donohue, Rich Bennett, Dai Matthews, Mike Beswick; Wayne Underwood, Bob Adams; Dalton Tice, Sam Evans, George Sheldon, James Murray, James Wood, Louis Osborne, Liam Pemberton (c), George Maggs.

Replacements: Luke Workman, Dave Watchorn, Jack Hussey Newent: Ozzie Garlick; Brett Gardner, Will Mansfield, Charlie Gellert, Andrew Smith; Tom Webb, James Dean; Morgan Morris, Mikey Addis, Toby Hill, Toby Freeman, Dan Fletcher, Ross Webb (c), Jack Royle, Fred Nottingham.

Replacements: Luke Marriott, Russell Upton, Richard Merrett Referee: Fred Spong (Gloucester Society)