Kingswood got their promotion campaign off to the best possible start this weekend as they comfortably saw off the challenge of fellow relegation sufferers, Old Colstonians. After last week’s disappointing performance, and result, to Spartans of Gloucester in the cup, Kingswood knew this was where the serious work began.

A pre-match meeting set the tone. The goals were set and the responsibilities made clear. Kingswood were to bounce back, and bounce back hard.

And in fairness, they did. Much of this was due to the fantastic performance of the forwards, who gave the Colstonians pack a torrid time all afternoon, and of course, when the forwards thrive, the backs flourish.

Scott Bailey, nephew of Kingswood legend Stan, has made a big impact since his arrival at the club, but when an innocuous kick clearance from Old Colstonians was taken safely by the winger, no one envisaged what would follow. A step here, a burst through a gap there, and finally a dummy, and Bailey had grab a fantastic solo try from just inside the Colstonians half. Joe Jones-Griffiths, returning to the squad after his 2 weeks out through injury, added the simple extras.

The 7 changes made from the side that faced Spartans last weekend also saw the important return of Steve Ridgway. The alert Scrum-Half is always a welcome threat to opposition defences, and when Kingswood were awarded a penalty from another devastating scrum, he looked around harmlessly, before taking the quick tap and smashing over the defences try-line to grab another important try for the home side.

When the 2nd try went over and the tension was relieved slightly, it became clear that Kingswood were controlling proceedings quite comfortably. The first half ended and the second started in the same manner. New signings Dan Howlett and Tyler Alder came on to boost the Forward performance and they didn’t disappoint.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Kingswood. Within the space of 6 minutes they suddenly lost their Captain, Ashley Honeywell, to the bin, as he was unable to tell the referee who committed the offence he described. This was followed shortly by Mark Oakley, who was shown a yellow for a no-armed tackle.

Thankfully, even with the extra 2 men, Colstonians were unable to make their advantage count, and once they were back up to full strength, Kingswood eventually saw out the game in comfortable style.

A vastly improved performance from Kingswood, and one that should worry other teams in the league. The remainder of this season could and should be a fantastic one for Kingswood, as long as the commitment and drive remains the same.

C’mon K.