Kingswood Victorious In 60th Anniversary Exhibition Match

Kingswood and Old Elizabethans battled it out in a highly competitive fixture as they entertained the sizeable crowd that had gathered to help celebrate the start of Kingswood RFC's 60th Anniversary season.

Old E's were Kingswood's first fixture back in 1954, so they were the perfect opposition to help start the 2014/15 season celebrations. Kingswood's squad consisted of players that were in the 1st XV squad back in 2007, a year that saw regular league and cup fixtures between the 2 teams. It was with great pleasure that Kingswood welcomed back JP Toffi, Rich Francis and Sam Massey, who dusted off their boots to take to the field of dreams once more.

Watching on were a large crowd made up of the Kingswood Old Boys, who travelled from all over to come back to the club they had called home over the previous decades.

An overheard conversation between 2 Old E's players revealed that Kingswood were considered to be "that fat kind of strong", and they didn't disappoint, with impressive scrummaging right from the outset. Kingswood's heavyweight Second Row, Ben Feltham and Neil Ward, wowed the crowd with some deft hands to put Ian Kirley away up the wing for Kingswood's first try of the game.

There was more impressive play from Kingswood when Scrum Half Ben Phillips put a high ball over the top of Old E's and, despite being unable to catch the ball first time, Fly Half Dean Stephens secured the ball as it bounced back up straight into his hands before diving over the line.

James Willmott, on loan from Old Reds for the day, was the next on the score sheet for Kingswood when he relived his glory years with a trade mark chinking run through the E's defence to run in under the posts. Joe Jones-Griffiths added a simple drop kick conversion.

Last on the score sheet for Kingswood was the Front Row's Damien 'wrecking ball' Crosswell, who smashed through a tired Old E's defence near the end of the game to ultimately grab the winning try.

Old Elizabethans bagged themselves 3 tries however as they kept themselves in the game throughout, which led to a highly entertaining match for everyone watching.

A massive thank you to Old E's for the match and also to Alex Massey who officiated the game to his usual high standards.

Finally, huge thanks to the players that dusted off their boots to have a run out again, we really hope its reignited your passions and we see you playing again this season.

The 2014/15 season is now officially underway. Lets make this season another reason to be proud of this glorious club.