Thornbury 40 Lydney 32

Thornbury blew away Lydney in a scintillating first half only to drop the intensity and let the opposition back into a game that they nearly won, writes Dave Fox.

Leading by thirty points early in the second half Thorns looked to have had the game won but gave Lydney a lifeline and the Severnsiders took that with both hands to run in four second half tries and finish comfortably on top.

Lydney kicked off but Thorns lost James Wood to a high tackle in the second minute. But Thornbury played a fast and open game and after five minutes went ahead. They attacked from a scrum in the Lydney ‘22’ and Louis Osborne broke through and put Harry Glew in at the corner. Bob Adams converted, then Thorns scored again directly from a scrum in their own half. Sam Poustie created space and Alfie Richardson seared through and dummied the cover to score. Adams added the extras for 14-0.

Lydney hit back with a penalty then Jim Massey gathered a clearing kick and moved the ball infield where Richardson bisected two defenders and raced clear, drew the cover and fed inside to Adams who scored between the posts. He converted his try and put Thorns 21-3 ahead.

Thorns scored again following the next restart. From another scrum Adams, Poustie and Jack Pinker combined and Richardson sliced through and passed out to Glew who scored his second try and earned Thorns the try bonus point. As Adams converted the first quarter drew to a close with a 28-3 lead.

That was extended a few minutes later when Richardson scored again after forwards and backs stretched the defence. Adams converted. Lydney scored a converted try just before the break and Thorns led 35-10 at half time. Spectators looked at the scoreboard and rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

Jak Evans scored Thorns’ sixth try just 29 seconds into the second half, running back a clearing kick and handing off three defenders to score. But Thorns visibly dropped the intensity and allowed Lydney to get back into the game. They scored a try shortly afterwards then after Richardson was well-tackled on the line Lydney scored again. Then the replacement centre scored then went over again a few minutes later but crossed the deadball line and the try was disallowed. However they scored a fourth try from a lineout a few minutes later and Thorns’ lead had been reduced to 40-27.

Thorns had to defend for their lives as Lydney now sensed a win. They scored a try as the game went into injury time but Thorns held out for the win. It could easily have been a different story. Thorns need to be able to put sides away.

Nevertheless, the performance in the first half was extraordinary with each player contributing to a great display. Harry Glew took his tries well and Thorns’ back row played effectively collectively and individually. The scrum was solid for most of the game and the lineout was generally efficient. Bob Adams kicked beautifully but the dominant player was Alfie Richardson and he was declared Player of the Match by the sponsors from Thornbury RFC Juniors.

Next Saturday Thorns travel to Chew Valley, kick-off 3pm.

Thornbury scorers: tries –Glew (2), Richardson (2), Adams, Jak Evans; conversions –Adams (5)