Hornets Under-16s retained the Bristol Combination Cup with a convincing display against Keynsham.

A FIRST-HALF try blitz saw favourites Hornets deservedly retain the under-16 Bristol Combination Cup against Keynsham.

Hornets ran in seven tries to Keynsham’s two and were worthy winners.

The die was cast as early as the fourth minute when a flowing Hornets move ended with Andy Wheller diving in for an unconverted try. On 20 minutes, Hornets set up a terrific driving maul which ended with Josh Caulfield barrelling over from short range.

Then just before the interval, Hornets virtually sealed the game thanks to a rampaging run from Joe Smith, who unselfishly offloaded to Lewis Brake to score a try under the posts, which Connor Littlewood converted.

To Keynsham’s credit, they came out fighting in the second half and were rewarded with a try.

But normal service was resumed for Hornets when a clearance kick found Dan Saunders, who beat several players to score. Adam Francis added the extras. Full-back Sam Balkham was the next on the scoresheet when he rounded off a dazzling series of offloads to score. Francis converted.

Then it was the turn of the forwards, with prop Alex Perkins scoring his first try for the club from five metres. There was still time for Keynsham to reduce the deficit, but Hornets had the last say with Francis scoring his second try of the game after another slick handling move. Connor Davidson added the extras.

Hornets head coach, Andy Francis, said: “The lads really came out looking sharp and focused and took hold of the game from the first whistle. They made the right decisions at the right times.”

The Under-13s travelled to Taunton and were beaten by a try scored right on full time.

Hornets were struggling to keep their feet in the scrum and on one occasion Taunton exploited this and earned themselves a try. Solid line-out takes by Mohide and Dover helped by Cocking saw Hornets inch their way upfield, but Taunton scored a try right on half-time.

The second half saw more runs by Robinson and the backs were getting good ball to work up the pitch. A quick tap penalty and ball along the line found Coe in space, who scorched down the wing and, when held up, popped the ball inside to Solomon to stride in for a well-worked try.

Hornets began to turn the screw and, after a number of penalties, were in sight of the line. A well-rehearsed penalty move saw Holyday barged over. The conversion by Humphris just dropped short in difficult conditions.

With just a couple of minutes left, Hornets needed to keep concentration, but Taunton At the halfway stage of the season, the Under-10s reflected on what has been a good and developing year so far.

They have won 11 of the 21 games played and scored 45 tries, while conceding 36. Top try scorers have been Reef Morton and Tom Read. Big effort in the rucks has been provided by Lloyd Chudley and Ben Graves and by Alex Leeks at scrum-half to start the passages of play.

Good pace on the wings has been given by Adam Dawood, Lawrence Pilgrim and recently by Harry Lynn and Sam Hughes. Big pushes through the middle have come from Harry McFarling, Tim Morris and bursts from behind the pack from Reeve Bailey.

YATTON Under-15s hosted Clevedon in this local derby and registered a 29-12 victory.

With Clevedon only arriving with 13 players, Yatton’s Matt Sculley and Spencer Williams agreed to play for the opposition.

Soon after the start, Nathan Jones offloaded to Tom Patch to crash over the try line, converted by Jack Edwards. Soon after, Olly Cornish sidestepped his way over for the second try.

Clevedon hit back with a try of their own, before Brennan Branchie-Hill made 35 yards before offloading to James Edwards to score a well-deserved try.

After the break, good work by James Edwards and Lewis Hyman set up Ben Forest Hutton to cross the line.

Straight from the reset, Yatton’s forwards dominated and with great tackling from flankers Mike Gane and Sam Powell, the ball was soon back in the hands of James Edwards and with huge support, he crossed under the posts, making an easy conversion for Jack Edwards.

Injuries to both sides in this hard fought match were taking their toll. With Yatton’s Cornish injured after a brave tackling attempt, Clevedon took their chance and ran in a well-deserved try of their own.

Man of the match was Mike Gane.

A DEPLETED Winscombe Under-15 squad, suffering both injuries and seasonal absences, narrowly won a highly-competitive game at Chew Valley in the preliminary round of the Somerset Cup.

It was Winscombe’s back division that led the way, quick hands liberating Toby Sims for an early score. From the restart, Winscombe were able to mount pressure again, Tommy Parsons taking an interception and breaking through the first line of defence before offloading to Sam Rees to score. Sam Dearsley completed a tricky conversion, and Winscombe turned around at half-time 12-0 ahead.

After the break, Josh Daly released Kieran Westcott for a sprint to the line. Soon after, Westcott almost did it again and at 17-0 down, Chew decided to change strategy.

Keeping things tight with the forwards paid dividends with two tries, both converted brought the home side within three points. A well-executed Daly-Sims move led to a penalty five metres out from the Chew line.

Sam Hartshorne took the tap and drove over the line to score. Charlie Beake added the extras, but Chew’s forwards were soon powering their way up the pitch to score again to make it 24-19 with five minutes to go.

Chew ground their way towards the tryline again, but were held back by solid tackling from Tom Cooksey, Chris Curry and Alex Jeanes as Winscombe held out.