Glouceser Premier Division

Chipping Sodbury 28 Tewkesbury 7

CHIPPING Sodbury have continued their excellent season with another victory, this time over Tewkesbury.

contest had a venerable audience, including the likes of Jerry Swatton, Adrian Page, and 5-season 1st team captain Neil Knight, who, along with many others, were attending one of Club President Ian Aldous’ afternoon soirees.

Sodbury set about their task with a diagonal wind in their favour, but early pressure yielded nothing due to handling errors.

An uncharacteristic penalty miss unwittingly set up Sodbury’s first try when the ensuing 22 drop-out was gathered in a fine aerial display by Phil Player. Jason Petchey, who ran tirelessly all game, cleared out the ruck, producing some quick ball. The ball fizzed across the back line before finding skipper Steve Hopes fully 30m from the tryline. With his beard flowing over his shoulder he embarrassed the cover tacklers to score next to the uprights.

Sodbury set up camp in the Tewkesbury 22 for the next 10 minutes but were frustrated by their own errors and a manful Tewkesbury defence.

Sods then had a lineout well in their own half after a huge relieving kick from the visitors. A pinpoint throw from eventual Man of the Match Dave Guest was pinged out into the centre for Joe Horton; he set off a passage of play that saw multiple rucks, pounding runs and inter-passing that gave Dan Bradley the opportunity to unlock the final line of defence and blaze through for a sensational try. Sodbury kept at it for the rest of the half as they tried to make the most of the conditions, though failed to convert their numerous line breaks into tries as passes were dropped.

Early in the second half, with Tewkesbury pressing hard, Sodbury’s defence went into overdrive. From a 5-metre lineout they forced the visitors back to halfway with the ferocity of their tackling. A feature of this half was the combative nature of the Sodbury lineout as any attempts by Tewkesbury to gain a foothold in their 22 were wiped out by the fast-twitch fibres of the Sodbury jumpers.

A Sodbury scrum on the Tewkesbury 10m line produced quick ball that once again found the marauding Horton. He got to within 10m of the tryline and in the shadow of the posts popped the ball up off the floor, allowing the pack to swarm in.

After 3 rucks which were once again defended heroically, up stepped Hopes. The crowd had been treated to a display of his pace and now they marvelled at his raw power and determination as he burst through the tight defence like a striking black mamba.

Tewkesbury used the wind to keep Sodbury in their own half and enjoyed some success with the ball in hand. Sodbury were indebted to the likes of Ryan Halford, who scythed down any breaks from fullback. But, as Tewkesbury kept pressing, Sodbury started infringing, and eventually the pressure told. Multiple scrums and lineouts on the visitors’ terms fatigued the men in black and a try was inevitable.

Stung by conceding a try, Sods applied a huge amount of pressure from the restart. Eventually Tewkesbury got a lineout just outside their own 22, but nobody could believe the huge unnecessary miss-pass that they threw. On hand was tricky winger Ben Taylor, to intercept and sail in beneath the uprights for a fourth bonus point try. Bradley stepped up to convert as he had the 3 before, wrapping up a weather-influenced game.