Kingswood's Stunning 2nd Half Defeats Top Of The Table Saracens

It's been a bad run of form for Kingswood recently with no win since December and after last weeks heavy defeat to Ashley Down, Kingswood faced another challenging fixture this week as they entertained the league leaders, Cheltenham Civil Service. Some good news for Kingswood though was that they welcomed back 5 players missing from last week's game. Captain Paul Allen, Steve Trevelyan, Ben Phillips, Mike Oakley & Damien Crosswell all made a return to the team which meant that Kingswood started with one of their strongest sides since the start of the season.

With last week's heavy defeat in the back of their minds, Kingswood set their stall out from the beginning and controlled the opening proceedings. With only 6 minutes gone, Adam Morris was at full speed and attacking the Cheltenham defence but was tackled illegally around the neck. Kingswood were awarded a penalty but Ben Phillips was unable to add the 3 points.

With 17 minutes on the clock, Kingswood were still seeing the majority of the possession and a great penalty kick from Dean Stephens secured a lineout 5m from Cheltenham's try-line. The lineout was taken well by Alex Green but it was instantly sacked by the Cheltenham forwards. The ball was recycled from the ruck quickly and upon reaching Dean Stephens, he sent a cheeky little grubber kick through the defensive line and into the try area. It was a race for the ball as both Stephens and the Cheltenham Centre gave chase but despite Stephens appearing to have his hands on the ball first, the referee was not in clear view and awarded a 22 drop out from which Cheltenham cleared the danger.

Despite the bright start, Kingswood spirits were soon dampened as a few minutes later, Cheltenham attacked strongly through the forwards with several crash balls and Kingswood were guilty of missed tackles as No. 10 crashed over the line and Kingswood somewhat unfairly fell behind. 0-5

Kingswood then fell foul of an odd refereeing decision from the resulting restart. Ben Phillips kick hovered above the 10m line and a Cheltenham forward jumped and played the ball, despite this, the referee awarded Cheltenham a scrum on the half way line and Kingswood were sleeping as Cheltenham's No. 8 took the ball blind then a few tackle avoiding passes up field left No. 12 with an easy run in. No. 10 added the conversion and Kingswood had that sinking feeling from last week as they found themselves 0-12 down.

Kingswood did pick their heads up however and strung some nice attacking moves together at the end of the half, but none of the attacks could be converted into points.

Half Time: Kingswood 0-12 Cheltenham CS

Kingswood made a change at half time with James Thorne coming off and Damien Crosswell coming on.

Kingswood knew at the start of the 2nd half that the score line was an unfair reflection of how the first half panned out and set out to put it right, and it only took 6 minutes of the 2nd half to get the ball rolling. Kingswood put together an excellent running rugby move in the backs and Adam Morris burst up the wing to take Kingswood into the Cheltenham 22 before Mike Oakley took over control of the ball. A ruck eventually formed and Steve Trevelyan was on hand to receive the quick ball and a strong run took him over the line to grab Kingswood's first points of the game. Ben Phillips added the 2 extra points from the boot and Kingswood had pulled their way back to 7-12

7 minutes later and a penalty for Kingswood was kicked to touch and the lineout secured before Kingswood were eventually awarded a scrum. The ball made its way to Paul Allen in the centre who took the ball into the Cheltenham defence and a rolling maul was formed. The rolling maul steamrolled its way towards the Cheltenham line before Steve Trevelyan broke from the back and once again crossed the Cheltenham line to grab Kingswood's 2nd try of the game. A very unsporting cough from a Cheltenham player during Ben Phillips run up didn't help matters during the conversion, which was missed, and only a quick speaking to rather than a retake was dished out by the referee and the scores were tied at 12-12 but Kingswood were now in full swing.

7 minutes after the try Kingswood were still dominating the game and looked certain to take the lead as Cheltenham looked shell shocked. A lineout in Cheltenham's 22 was excellently taken by Alex Green once again and Kingswood formed another rolling maul. Cheltenham had no answer to the rolling mauls and as it trundled towards the line, Mike Oakley broke free and powered his way over in the corner to give Kingswood the lead for the first time in the game. There was then an unbelievable kick from the touch line by Dean Stephens which made its way over the bar and Kingswood now held a 19-12 lead

A few minutes later and Cheltenham appeared to have grabbed a try back as they broke through the Kingswood defence, strangely though, a few passes were made which appeared unnecessary and the Kingswood defence were able to get back and snuff out the attack.

Kingswood then made their 2nd substitution as an injured Ben Phillips came off and Dave Vince came on.

Cheltenham continued to press forward in search of an equaliser and almost grabbed it when a scrum 5m out was taken towards the line by their Scrum Half and despite Neil Ward being on his knees, he managed to lock his arms round the No. 9 and pull him back from the line.

Kingswood's hearts were eventually placed in their mouths after Cheltenham's sustained pressure finally paid off and No. 10 made his way over the line. But there was a huge sigh of relief when the resulting conversion was put wide and Kingswood held on to their lead with the narrowest of margins. 19-17.

With the game now in injury time, all Kingswood had to do was keep possession and put the ball out, but they went one better and grabbed the final try in the game. From the restart, Cheltenham knocked on and despite the advantage from which they could have ended the game, Kingswood pressed forward with some excellent rucking and crashing ball near the break down helped inch them closer and closer to the line. Mike Oakley was next in line to receive the quick ball and upon breaking the first challenge, powered his way through the other attempts to reach out over the line and make the game safe for Kingswood. Dean Stephens once again made a difficult conversion look easy and as soon as the ball made its way over the posts, the referee ended the game to give Kingswood their first win in 2008 from the unlikeliest of games. 26-17

The result just shows how impressive a near strength Kingswood team can be and although there chances of promotion this year are looking slim, they have proven that if they can avoid the terrible injury problems they have sustained this season, then Gloucester 1 is an easily achievable target.

Full Time: Kingswood 26-17 Cheltenham CS