Kingswood were left feeling demoralised after a spirit crushing 15-17 defeat to local rivals Old Colstonains on Saturday. Despite going behind on 5 minutes to a try that was clearly knocked on over the line (see video), Kingswood fought back and took the lead on 13 minutes when the Kingswood pack turned over an Old C’s scrum before Inside Centre Dan Colton breached the defensive line and offloaded in the tackle over the shoulder to Ashley Honeywell, who jinked his way to the line before squeezing the ball down for a first class try. Conor Lambert added the extras. 7-5.

Kingswood then went on to have a fantastic 15 minutes spell where they camped out in the Old C’s half. Despite the possession though, Kingswood were only able to add an extra 3 points to their tally when Old C’s were penalised for entering a maul from the side and Conor Lambert slotted home the resulting penalty. 10-5.

With the half hour mark approaching, Colstonians then smashed their way back into the game when their sockless No. 8, who would go on to cause defensive trouble for Kingswood all afternoon, slipped through a few soft tackles to slam the ball down right under the posts. A simple conversion for the Old C’s Full-Back and the away side had recaptured the lead. 10-12.

The remainder of the half saw a lot of broken play in which a midfield tussle for possession ensued. This was amplified by a couple of Kingswood injuries in which Ian Kirley replaced Joe Jones-Griffiths (hamstring) and Ben Phillips replaced Tom Williams (Ribs) at Scrum Half.

Just before half time, Kingswood thought they had stole the lead back when Adam Morris found space on the wing to run in under the posts. However the referee had deemed there was a forward pass in the build up and the try was ruled out (the infringement is hard to spot on the video).

The 2nd half was more of the same, with both teams creating good changes. Fortunately for Kingswood, Old Colstonians spilled a lot of ball in the backs that snuffed out a few of their more dangerous chances. With 52 minutes on the clock, a lineout for Kingswood was secured on half way and a powerful rolling maul picked up pace and drove deeper into the Old C’s half. With a penalty seemingly on the cards, Scrum Half Ben Phillips then stunned the crowd by removing the ball and bursting up the blindside. Phillips made it to the 22 before offloading to Kingswood’s lightning winger, Jake Saunders, who stepped the covering defender to dive over the line a reclaim the lead for the homeside. 15-12.

It was hard to see a way back for Old Colstonians. Kingswood were dominant in the scrums and more than able to cope with the backs, but on 65 minutes, they were undone by some quick thinking from a penalty. Colstonians were putting the Kingswood defence under a lot of pressure under in their 22 and eventually the homeside were penalised for not releasing. While it appears some of the Kingswood players were trying to work out the score in their heads, Old C’s No. 17 took the ball and quick tapped before powering through some attempted tackles and squirm the ball over the line. 15-17.

The final 10 minutes were a nervy affair and Kingswood’s best chance at getting back into the game were snuffed out by a controversial kick to touch that appeared to have put into touch by the opposition winger. The ball remained in play however and Old C’s were able to clear the danger.

The referee then bought the game to a close and the pain of defeat was instantly shown on the Kingswood players faces. Summing up the game, Head Coach Mike Jones told the players to use the pain and disappointment they were feeling and take it into training on Tuesday. There were a lot of positives from the game, but there was also a lot to work on and this can only take place on a Tuesday and a Thursday.

Kingswood now face a trip to Old Cryptians, a team they haven’t played since 2009 would you believe! 2 fantastic training sessions and we will be set for this encounter. Please get along to training tonight. We have full match highlights of this game and the bar will be open to enjoy a drink with some darts afterwards!

See you there.

Final Score: Kingswood 15 – 17 Old Colstonians.