Kingswood were at home this week as they entertained BAC in a fixture that was originally arranged for the 3rd week of the season. Kingswood played BAC just over a month ago in a game they won comfortably, so they were looking for the same result in this week’s game.

Props Rob Lamb and Damien Croswell were unavailable due to Mr Lambs wedding and Flanker Gareth Pond was also out along with Winger Brad Whiston. There was a welcome return for James Dicks who slipped back in the front row along with Mike Oakley who returned from injury. Dave Vince was also drafted in to strengthen the bench.

A strong wind blowing straight down the pitch was to the benefit of BAC in the first half so Kingswood looked to keep things tight in the forwards. BAC started off with some early pressure that placed Kingswood in their 22 but Kingswood managed to steal possession and the ball was fed to Adam Morris on the wing who blasted his way up the pitch before being bundled into touch in BAC’s 22. The lineout for BAC was over-thrown which resulted in a knock-on at the back of the line and Kingswood were awarded a scrum. The scrum was secured and the ball found its way to Paul Allen who powered through the BAC forward line before being tackled 8 metres out. Mark McGarrigle picked the ball from the floor before passing to Neil Ward who setup a rolling maul and the Kingswood forwards drove forward with ease before Mark Oakley got the ball down over the line. Ben Phillips couldn’t add the two extra points but Kingswood had the lead with only 6 minutes on the clock. 5-0

Kingswood were nearly in again on the quarter of an hour mark but the final pass in the backs move fell at Adam Morris’s feet and he unfortunately knocked the ball on 5 metres from the try-line.

Kingswood did mange to grab another try 3 minutes later however when another good run by Adam Morris took Kingswood into BAC’s 22 once again. The BAC lineout was once again spilt and Alex Green was this time on hand to setup the rolling maul and again it moved with ease and Mike Oakley this time got the ball down for Kingswood. Ben Phillips kick just drifted wide of the uprights but Kingswood had doubled their lead. 0-10

Just approaching half time, Kingswood had another scoring opportunity after some strong running by Neil Ward allowed Kingswood to create an overlap but agonisingly the chance was knocked on again.

2 minutes later and BAC then had their first points scoring chance of the game when they were awarded a penalty for holding on. No. 10’s kick had the distance but not the accuracy and Kingswood went into half time with the lead and a clean sheet.

Half Time: Kingswood 10-0 BAC

Kingswood made two substitutions at half time with Lewis Voisey replaced on the wing by Anthony Davies and Scrum Half Ben Phillips came off with a wrist injury to be replaced by Dave Vince.

Now playing with the wind, it only took Kingswood 3 minutes in the second half to increase their lead further. Dean Stephens was instrumental in the try as his pace broke the BAC line and carried the ball into BAC’s half. A pass out wide by Stephens was knocked on by an attempted BAC block and Kingswood were awarded a scrum in BAC’s 22. Mark McGarrigle ran the ball blind from the resulting scrum before feeding the ball to Dean Stephens who drew the winger in field before passing the ball out to Anthony Davies on the wing, gifting him an easy run in across the line. Dean Stephens took over kicking duties but was unable to add the two points from out wide. 15-0

5 minutes later and Kingswood were still controlling the game and went on to score once again with a beautifully worked try. A ruck in BAC’s half was picked up quickly by Steve Trevelyan who ran the ball blind and then gave it out to Mike Oakley. Oakley moved the ball out to Anthony Davies before running outside him to receive the ball back and cross line for his 2nd try of the game. Again the conversion was unsuccessful but Kingswood were now looking comfortable with a 20-0 lead

With 55 minutes on the clock, Kingswood once again found themselves in BAC’s 22. A lineout for Kingswood was lost but Steve Trevelyan reacted first to secure the loose ball. A rolling maul was formed and once again it carried the ball over the BAC try-line and Mike Oakley got the ball down for his hat-trick. Dean Stephens sent a lovely kick through the uprights and Kingswood now led 27-0

With Kingswood cruising towards a comfortable victory and a clean sheet, there was then a commentator’s kiss of death from the Kingswood linesman, Steve Woods. “You know what, this will be 3 games now without conceding any points”. Almost instantly the sun went in and the sky began to darken and it was clear Steve had upset a higher power. Straight away a Kingswood scrum was taken wide by Mark McGarrigle and an attempted clearance up the wing was charged down by BAC’s No. 14 and his pace on the counter attack left him with an unchallenged run in. No. 10’s conversion was unsuccessful and the score now stood at 27-5

Kingswood then made their 3rd substitution as Mike Oakley made way for James Dicks

With only 2 minutes gone after the last try, Kingswood were guilty of some slack passing and the ball ran loose and No. 18 picked up the ball and had a free run-in under the posts. No. 10 converted and the score was now amazingly 27-12

Steve Woods was now banned from speaking for the rest of the game and from the restart a BAC attack was turned over by Kingswood and Adam Morris once again took Kingswood downfield with a strong run before being tackled into touch 5m from the try-line. BAC’s lineout was knocked back into the try area and Steve Trevelyan reacted first once again to dive on the loose ball to further increase Kingswood’s lead. The conversion was missed and Kingswood led 32-12

With only 8 minutes left in the game, there was time for one more try and it went the way of BAC. Some strong rucking from BAC carried them into Kingswood’s half before the ball was given to the backs and Kingswood missed a few tackles as No. 11 slipped through over the line and under the posts. No. 10 converted and Kingswood were pegged back to 32-19

Despite a lapse of concentration late in the 2nd half, Kingswood’s first 60 minutes sealed the game for them and they finished the game comfortable winners. The result now leaves them 1 point behind Old Cryptians who they play next week in a crunch match for 3rd spot.

Full Time: Kingswood 32-19 BAC