Bridgwater & Albion 1st XV 19 - 34 Amersham & Chiltern 1st XV

Chiltern get back to winning ways with a bonus point victory at Bridgwater & Albion

After the snow it was back to league action with a long trip to the West Country, but an excellent first half performance saw Chiltern dominate the game and come away with a bonus point win.

Rustiness was evident at the start however and after only 8 minutes a strong rolling maul from the Bridgwater pack was pulled down illegally by a Chiltern forward and the result was a converted, penalty try! This setback really galvanised the boys and only two minutes later some excellent handling by forwards and backs saw the ball moved quickly to the left wing where hooker Ryan Kirby put the prolific Sam Portland in for a try. This was unconverted as were two penalty attempts but Chiltern were now in control and only some desperate defending by the home team and some sloppy handling by Chiltern stopped the visitors moving further ahead. Patience was rewarded however and a 10 minute purple patch, leading up to half time, saw three more tries scored one of which was converted and the bonus point secured.

First repeated driving forward play saw Chiltern camped in the Bridgwater 22 and a bullocking run from Ollie Cato saw him score wide out for his first senior try. 5 minutes later Can Gentles picked up a loose ball after a shuddering tackle from Ross Bugden dislodged the ball from the opposition centre. From halfway Cam outpaced the whole defence and scored in the corner, brilliantly converted by Ross. Then just before halftime Nick Fischer was on the end of another sweeping move with final try of the half making it 22-7 at the break.

The second half was much harder with Chiltern playing against the elements. The wind was very strong and Chiltern had to play a much tighter game but after 10 minutes the game was made safe with Craig Webb forcing his way over the line for the fifth try, this time converted from the touchline by Rob Smalley.

Bridgwater never gave up and pressed hard, repeatedly driving into the Chiltern 22 and they were rewarded with a final surge and a try. A strange refereeing decision saw Craig Webb yellow carded for not releasing the player even though the ball was in goal and held up. Bridgwater took advantage of Chiltern being a player short and scored a good long range try after a missed tackle in midfield. Chiltern are a very determined team these days however and with a couple of minutes to go and, after some good interplay between forwards and backs, the ball was worked out to Sam Portland who ran in for his second try of the day.

This was an important win for Chiltern as it extended their lead over Oxford Harlequins to 9 points but the boys still need another 2/3 wins to make their position safe in this league…