Chosen Hill F.P. 28

Chipping Sodbury 33

Chipping Sodbury returned to action after a week off to extend their unbeaten run to four games with victory over Chosen Hill writes Neil Taylor.

Sodbury accepted the kick-off and thundered through six phases before placing a long punt downhill.

When the ball was returned, the Sods didn’t hesitate to run it back. The play rampaged off to the left where a ruck was formed on Sodbury’s 10m line.

The ball then went right and landed in the hands of the powerful and elusive Dan Cole; he threw a mean belly swerve and surged through a gap that the F.P. didn’t realise existed. Once behind the defence, he passed to the swift-as-an-arrow Jon Cook. Cook swept in for the try from halfway, dotting down between the sticks to leave himself a simple conversion.

All this took place in the first 90 seconds of the game, but the F.P. were unbowed – they came back at Sodbury and forced them into a period of feverish defence. The F.P’s had a dangerous attacking lineout in Sodbury’s 22 but this threat was snuffed out by the determined athleticism of Dave Turner, who plucked their ball from the sky to stun a feverish home support.

Soon after, the F.P’s infringed and Dan Bradley kicked long for a lineout on their 10m line.

Sodbury’s go-to lineout master Turner secured the ball before it was whipped out to Bradley, who ran an arc until he saw a gap appear: the gap was slammed shut with a high tackle, which he bravely shrugged off.

Once back on his feet and scanning the field, he elected for a grubber kick deep into the 22; there was no lucky bounce or fortune, just stunning skill. Without breaking stride, he folded his 6’3” frame and scooped the ball up one-handed for a wonderful try.

Sodbury seemed to slack off for the next 15 minutes and were forced to defend a committed attack. When the Sods did have the ball, they were a tad careless: wild passes and missing touch with kicks kept the pressure on. Eventually the F.P’s scored a try on the back of great continuity, and had a scrum awarded 25m out in their own half after a Sodbury grubber had gone dead.

The Sodbury eight spotted their chance to disrupt and exert some pressure of their own, this time at the scrummage. Sodbury’s front row ranges in age from 45 - Lee Ralph, Alan Keeping – to fresh-faced 19-year-old Jake Kirkham. All these men worked as one to get amongst their counterparts.

As the no.8 at the back of the scrum scrambled for the ball he put in a panicked pass to his scrum-half. To his dismay he found Sodbury’s 80’s synth-pop inspired Tom Head, who gleefully accepted it and scampered in for his seventh try of the season. Cook converted to give the visitors a 7 – 19 lead at the break.

Early in the second half, Sodbury conceded a penalty try: speedster Cook chased the breakaway down like a cheetah on the savannah, stopping him 5m out. The Sods’ other responder was deemed to have made an early tackle which denied a try and a yellow card was brandished.

On the hour, Sodbury forced a penalty at a scrum in the F.P’s 22. Stand-in captain Otto Avent elected for another scrum.

This belief in the big men paid off – they won the ball with a big shove, keeping the F.P’s back row engaged. The ball was hurried away to the left where, following a thunderous ruck, the ball went left again.

Cook used pace and guile to ghost through the defence before smoothly passing to Jake Lewis, who topped his all-action contribution from full-back with a well-deserved try.

Any time the F.P’s had a ruck and tried to draw breath, they weren’t allowed as they were assailed by the Sodbury demolition balls of Keeping, Turner, and Niall Kincaid. This onslaught slowed the ball down or forced knock-ons to Sodbury’s advantage.

The F.P’s scored their third try from a 5m lineout which even Turner couldn’t disrupt: Sodbury were helpless to defend a lineout drive with 14 men in it.

With five minutes left on the clock, Sodbury missed a 3-pointer from 30m out – the resulting 22 drop-out was easily collected in midfield. Play went right then through a series of rucks before sweeping left with some real urgency.

The try was scored by arch finisher Joe Horton, who received the ball 25m out and set off for glory. Along the way, he skipped tackles and swerved before leaving the F.P’s fullback procumbent after swatting him away with a stinging hand-off. Cook added the extras from the touchline.

The F.P’s came back at Sodbury, now aided by the eight minutes of extra time, and scored another try from a lineout with a 14-man maul. This meant two valuable points for them but an even more valuable five points on the road for Chipping Sodbury.