Lucky 13 For Kingswood

Sitting proudly at the summit of Gloucester 2, Kingswood welcomed BAC this weekend for another ‘must win’ fixture. When the two teams met earlier this season, Kingswood inflicted BAC’s first and only (correct at time of going to press) home defeat of the season, but on Kingswood’s mammoth pitch, would BAC’s defence be able to remain as tight?

With the recent weeks cancellations, Kingswood have managed to rest the injured and the broken and put out an incredibly strong line-up.

The opening 5 minutes saw the usual fight for territory until Kingswood’s Backs got their hands on the ball and ran up field quickly until the ball landed in the hands of Winger Adam Morris, who was halted before spilling the ball into the hands of the BAC Winger. BAC made good progress downfield but were stopped just short of Kingswood’s 22 and this proved to be the only time that Kingswood’s defence was troubled in the first half.

With 8 minutes of the game gone, Kingswood were pressing forward well and found themselves in BAC’s 22. Great Forward play meant Kingswood crept slowly towards the BAC line before the ball was spread into the hands of Prop Damien Crosswell, who sold an outrageous dummy pass before falling elegantly over the line to give Kingswood the early lead. Ben Phillips couldn’t make the conversion and Kingswood led 5-0.

The usual rumblings from the opposition about getting back up the other end and keeping their heads up were soon silenced as from the restart, Kingswood secured possession and instantly spread the ball wide, BAC’s backline were all over the place as James Willmott skipped past his opposite man and ran the ball home from within his own half less than a minute after the last try. Ben Phillips slotted home the simple conversion and Kingswood were now 12-0 up.

With 23 minutes gone, it was clear that Kingswood were dominating in the scrums and bossing the breakdowns as they turned over numerous BAC ball. With Kingswood deep in BAC’s 22 once again, a series of penalties led to Kingswood securing a lineout before setting up a powerful rolling maul that eventually led to Damien Crosswell getting the ball down over the line for his 2nd and Kingswood’s 3rd try. Conversion attempt was missed but Kingswood were looking comfortable at 17-0.

Then the try of the match, 35 minutes gone and the ball was in the possession of the Kingswood Backs once again. Centre Gareth Pond made the initial break downfield to create the space before offloading to James Willmott on the wing. In a similar position to his first try, Willmott was faced with a trickier run-in, but he elegantly managed to avoid 2 attempted tackles, getting closer to the touchline with each one, before he skipped over the desperate lunge of BAC’s No. 8 for a clear run to the try line. Again the conversion attempt was missed but Kingswood were now 22-0 to the good.

With little time left in the first half, Kingswood pressed once again and were awarded a penalty in front the posts, opting to take the 3 points, Ben Phillips slotted home the kick and the referee blew his whistle to end an impressive and dominant first half display.

Half Time: Kingswood 25 – 0 BAC

Kingswood’s 2nd half plan was to get an early score on the board to really break the spirit of the opposition and they achieved this with only 5 second half minutes on the clock. A mixture of play from both Forwards and Backs saw Kingswood creeping their way downfield and into BAC’s 22 once again. A ruck was secured by Kingswood just 10 metres from the line and Ben Phillips was looking around considering his options. Spotting there was no defensive cover, Phillips gave the call and sent the ball looping over the defence and into the try area. Fly Half Dean Stephens was on it in a flash and before the defence knew what was happening, a lovely little bounce saw the ball nestle into Stephens’s hands and he had the simple task of dabbing the ball down for the try. The conversion attempt was missed but Kingswood had the early try they were after. 30-0.

There then came a barrage of Kingswood substitutions. Firstly on 50 mins when Adam Morris made way for Joe O’Leary on the wing. 5 minutes later and Steve Trevelyan made way for Matthew Perriman.

An hour gone and BAC were in possession of the ball, albeit in their own half. The ball was spread to the Backs but BAC’s Centre spilled the ball just in front of an advancing Paul Allen who dived down to scoop up the loose ball. A quick ruck and counter attack saw the ball land with Hooker Dave Vince who sprinted (impressively quick for a man of his age too!) and dived over the line to secure Kingswood’s 6th try. The conversion attempt from Ben Phillips struck the upright to round of his frustrating day with the boot, but Kingswood were now cruising at 35-0.

As the teams were lining up for the restart, Captain Neil Ward was replaced by Rob Lamb. This seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back as nothing much really happened after this point, not according to my notes anyway.

So an impressive victory for Kingswood, but one that would have been a lot worse for BAC if the boggy ground hadn’t made the conversions a lot harder than usual. Kingswood now prepare for the visit of 2nd placed St. Brendans as they look to keep their impressive winning streak going.

Final Score: Kingswood 35 – 0 BAC

Man of The Match - James Willmott ( Outstanding Pace & Strength )

Ass Of The Match - Ian Kirley