Gloucester Premier League

Chipping Sodbury 1st XV 40 Frampton 1st XV 0

THERE was a large contingent of former players from both clubs present to take in this return fixture. The President’s luncheon, hosted by the venerable Ian Aldous, was a great start to what turned out to be a perfect day for Chipping Sodbury RFC.

The opening exchanges all went Sodbury’s way, with the home side demonstrating what was possible on a mercifully firm pitch, and with the correct mindset. Sods controlled the ball through multiple rucks and driving mauls: any long kicks were ably caught by exciting fullback Cameron Flye. He always managed to run the ball back up field to where the forwards were loitering, making sure he was tackled on his terms. There was a fairly lengthy injury break when Frampton’s obviously talented Joe Ferris needed repair work on a cut to his face that didn’t even dent his boyish good looks.

Following this breather, Lee Ralph stunned the crowd by gathering a kick into the Sodbury 22 before any Frampton players and even the super-fly Flye. This commitment saw Ralph collect another Man Of The Match award and set the bar for the level of effort required to win this local derby.

Sodbury were frustrated by Frampton’s tigerish defence for a full half hour until they broke the deadlock. However, the Sodbury pack was performing well at set piece and returned impressive stats against the head at both lineout and scrummage. The Sodbury eight surged forward from a 5 metre scrum, while Phil Player controlled the ball at the back. He has had a lot of practice this season presiding over push overs and once again he didn’t disappoint. Player’s back-row companions Matt Cook and Jason Petchey were on top form too as they threw themselves around both in the tackle and with ball in hand. Ryan Halford showed some wonderful rugby mastery in yet another new position; it seems No. 13 also suits him as he didn’t miss a tackle and always crossed the gainline, often delivering the sweetest of passes.

On the cusp of halftime Sodbury were awarded another 5 metre scrum. They were in this position thanks to brawny Chris Hamilton’s charge up the left wing, where he left many defenders procumbent (lying flat on their faces). Once again the Sodbury pack dipped in unison to begin their advance: Player had no need to even get out of his armchair this time and his second try was a formality. The game may have had a different completion had the Frampton flyhalf been successful with penalty kicks each side of half time as pressure can affect a team.

The second half was just 5 minutes old when Frampton had a scrum on their own 22. Fleet-footed Dave Guest, who had an action-packed game, hooked the ball against the head. Player pounced, picked up and went blind, where he found golden oldie Steve Romanowski. His stunning skillset allowed him to catch and pass in just one stride; this flummoxed the rushing defence and set Max Gallagher free to score in the corner.

Another strike against the head on Sodbury’s 22 set Jake Lewis off, his jinking 40 metre run getting him easily behind the defence. He passed to Hamilton, who was full of fizzing energy all afternoon, and he in turn put in a clever kick off the outside of his boot into the path of Halford, who collected and dived in to score.

James Bennett was exchanged for Romaowski after 15 minutes of the second period, and he demonstrated a wide range of kicking and passing skills. But he was his physical power which drew gasps from the large crowd, as he broke tackles and, in one barn-storming run, managed a hat-trick of handoffs. Bennett stroked over a penalty before a scrum was awarded to Sodbury on the same spot as his kick. The try from this scrum was a carbon copy of Gallagher’s, only this one was on the opposite wing and it was scored by Hamilton.

Sodbury were in their own half following the restart and got the game going with a lineout on their 22. Sods used a back peel which went to Ralph, who powered 15 metres before being brought down and setting up a decisive ruck. This quick ball was once more to Lewis, whose mazey 40 metre run put him in plenty of space; somehow Peter Butcher was on hand to take the pass. He in turn found Ralph, who was felled agonisingly close to the try line, two rucks with ruthless clearouts saw the ball once more in the shovel-like hands of Butcher, who used his full flexibility to stretch out and score.

In the final minute, Sodbury scored their last try, another 60 metre effort that saw rugby transformed into art. Once again, Lewis did the preparation work: his shimmy, followed by pace and power, took him deep into the Frampton half, where he found Hamilton prowling with intent. Hamilton had 25 metres to cover to bag his brace, switching the ball from left to right hand three times as the tackles flew in from all angles. His fend was phenomenal, his speed unquestionable and, like a beserker, he dragged three men with him to register a spectacular try and wrap up a Sodbury double over their local rivals.