Match Report

Friendly Match

Thornbury Vs Kingswood

With the absence of league fixtures, it has been exactly a month since Kingswood’s first XV played their last competitive game. Saturday’s trip to Thornbury brought the whole team back together in a match that they knew was going to be tricky.  Upon arrival, Kingswood were asked if the game could be treated as a trials match so that Thornbury could rotate through the surplus players they had available from all their sides.  Kingswood sportingly agreed despite only having 2 substitutes on the bench to use for the whole 80 minutes.  Kingswood fielded almost a full strength team but one glaring change was the use of Prop Mike Oakley on the wing!  Kingswood started the half playing down the sloping Thornbury pitch.

The first quarter was a scoreless affair but it was nonetheless very entertaining as both teams tried various inroads to grab the lead but both defences were equal to any attacks.  It was clear from the opening proceedings however that Kingswood were going to see a lot of ball coming from the scrums as their pack pushed Thornbury back on the opening exchanges.

Just after the start of the 2^nd quarter, Kingswood made a few minor adjustments with their 2 substitutes as Matt Davies made way for Gareth Pond and there was a first team debut for Anthony Davies who replaced Mike Oakley on the wing.

There was still very little action approaching the half hour mark as again both teams cancelled each other out, but just when it seemed as though the half time score would be scoreless, Kingswood then went and grabbed the lead.  Kingswood were attacking well and were awarded a lineout deep in Thornbury’s 22. The lineout was secured and a rolling maul steamrolled towards the line with terrific momentum as Thornbury struggled to contain it.  The maul crashed over the line and despite Ben Phillips telling the ref that it was over, the referee deemed it was held up and gave Kingswood a scrum 5m out.  Kingswood secured the scrum but despite the attempted pushover, the Thornbury pack refused to budge, so Ben Phillips quickly released the ball to the backs.  Dean Stephens received the ball before sending a miss pass over the top of Mark McGarrigle to Derek James, who had the simplest of opportunities as he dove over the line.  Ben Phillips was unable to grab the extras but Kingswood held a 0-5 lead just before half time.

 Half Time:  Thornbury 0-5 Kingswood

With more changes for Thornbury at half time and with Kingswood now playing up the slope, it didn’t take too long before Thornbury had pulled the scores level.  Thornbury were seeing a high number of penalties coming their way and with this aiding their movement into the Kingswood half, they secured a lineout in the Kingswood 22.  A rolling maul was setup and despite Kingswood holding it in place, No. 8 broke from the back and slipped through to dive over the line in the corner. No. 10 was unable to grab the extra points and the scores were tied at 5-5

With Thornbury’s fresh legs on the field, they were seeing a lot more chances being created but Kingswood were holding firm and this was causing obvious frustration to Thornbury as the game began to turn slightly sour with a few off the ball incidents occurring.

With less than a minute till the end of the 3^rd quarter, Kingswood found themselves on the back foot defending their lines, however a strong tackle in the Kingswood 22 caused a spillage and Mark McGarrigle was on hand to scoop up the loose ball and run clear of the 22 before feeding the ball to Paul Allen who released the ball early to Brad Whiston on the wing.   Still in his own half, Whiston set off up field and with his incredible pace it wasn’t long before he was one on one with the Full Back.  A lovely side step infield gave Whiston the clear run in and he got the ball over the line to complete an excellent counter attack from Kingswood.  Ben Phillips was again unable to add the 2 points but the referee blew the whistle straight after the kick and Kingswood went into the final quarter 5-10 up

 The final quarter was probably the most impressive from Kingswood, despite Thornbury bringing the scores level again on 66 minutes.  Kingswood were attacking but Thornbury managed to steal the ball and strong together a lovely counter-attacking move which was finished off with No. 19 getting the ball over the line.  No. 10’s conversion attempt struck the post which meant the scores were tied once again at 10-10

Despite this however, Kingswood pretty much dominated the last quarter of an hour, with lots of possession and territory and their scrummaging was also impressive as it continued to move the Thornbury pack back up hill. 

Kingswood should have stolen the win in the final 10 minutes as they attacked once again and Captain Paul Allen broke through a gap in the Thornbury defence and wove his way through several attempted tackles to bring the ball within feet of the line.  However, with recent slatings for not passing the ball ringing in his ears, Allen unselfishly tried to offload the ball but it was agonisingly spilt and Thornbury managed to clear their lines.

The last plays in the game were all Kingswood’s and they were rewarded with a penalty in the Thornbury half with the last action of the game.  Kingswood decided that they would go for the lineout and try and grab the victory via a forward move but a comical misunderstanding meant that their kick to touch actually ended the game.  Kingswood’s disappointment didn’t last too long though as they soon realised that even a draw was an excellent result given the circumstances.

Kingswood now look forward to returning to league action as they host Tetbury in another must win encounter.

Full Time: Thornbury 10-10 Kingswood