Bream Too Strong For Kingswood In Opening Fixture

The first league match report for Kingswood’s 1st XV this season will inevitably be a short one, not just because the kind people on the sideline covered my notepad in falic drawings (there really is some wasted artistic talent at the club) but also because that’s the sort of game this fixture turned out to be.

Kingswood welcomed Bream back to the Big K for the first time since Feb 2009, a fixture that Kingswood lost 5-18. Due to the continuing absenteeism from the Forwards, 2nd team Captain, Stan Bailey, was called up for the fixture, along with Mark McGarrigle. Kingswood’s Backs had a strong line-up however and there was a first team debut for new signing, Tom Jones-Griffiths, brother of Joe.

This season was going to be very different from last season, used to winning most of their fixtures, Kingswood now knew that they were going to have to work hard for every point in this league.

The game kicked off and instantly Bream were putting Kingswood under pressure, but Kingswood’s defence remained organised and despite several attempts, Bream were kept at bay. Kingswood did have one or two attacking spells, with debut player Tom Jones-Griffiths making some excellent breaks in the Bream defence, but Kingswood’s final passes were not coming off and Kingswood failed to capitalise when chances arose.

Bream were awarded a penalty on the 25 minute mark and they opted to take the points, however the kick was put wide.

Just like last weeks game with Ashley Down, it seemed that Kingswood were going to hold out for a scoreless first half, however Bream had other ideas and with 35 minutes gone, Kingswood’s defence was finally broke. The conversion was made and Kingswood trailed 0-7 at half time

Half Time: Kingswood 0-7 Bream

Despite Kingswood’s defensive efforts, Bream effectively sealed the game on 53 minutes when their No. 4 crashed over the line. The conversion was missed but Bream now had a 0-12 lead.

Kingswood then had a 10 minute spell where they held most of the possession and some quick pick and goes and off-loading started to cause Bream some real problems, however, Kingswood were loose in the tackle area and on a number of occasions, Bream managed to turn over rucks and clear the danger and sadly Kingswood could still not get any points of the board.

And that’s how it remained, despite an excellent defensive performance, Kingswood just lacked that bit of attacking composure on the day and slipped to their first league defeat. But a 0-12 loss to last years 4th placed finishers isn’t that terrible and with one or two Forwards set to return and bolster the pack, it shouldn’t be long before Kingswood get some league points. Next week, Kingswood travel to Cheltenham Civil Service for yet another tricky fixture.

Thanks to Mrs Honeywell for the photos of the game. I will have a highlights video by the middle of the week, but after the revelation that ‘outsiders’ were studying the videos, they will now be for members only. So if you’re yet to register on the website then please do so soon.

Hannah King was also at the game taking photos and these can be seen here http://tinyurl.com/342mjsw Thank you to Hannah as well!

Final Score: Kingswood 0-12 Bream