Close games in derby encounters

TWO large squads turned up for the return match between Hornets Under-7s and Weston.

The first match was both exciting and even with the lead changing hands a number of times. Hornets scored in the first few seconds, but Weston soon replied. The first half was dominated by great attacking play and it finished 4-3 to Weston.

The second half saw wholesale changes by both teams and now it was the defensive skills that shone through with both teams tagging well. Weston led 6-5 with one possession left for Hornets and with time running out, Hornets moved the ball the length of the pitch to end a thrilling game 6-6.

Try scorers for Hornets were Harvey (2), Finley W, Adam (2) and Oliver.

The second game was completely different with Hornets dominating for long periods. In attack, Hornets mixed some great individual runs with excellent support and teamwork. The final score reflected the hard work put in with Hornets winning 6-1. Try scorers were Willow, Max, Finley W and Oliver (3).

The Harry the Hornet award was presented to Adam.

Hornets: Adam Collins, Billie Chenoweth, Hayden Greaves, Oliver Chilman, Harvey Grant, Jacob Davis, Max Hutchinson, Finley Clemence, Willow Hull, Cameron Snook, Mason Turner, Finley Windell, Jenson Janes, Daniel Walcot, Lucas Whittle, Harry Jones.

The Under-9s were at home to Weston. The team consisted of Kieron, David, James, Charlie, Joseph, Louie, Liam, Elliot, Brennan, Kieton, Arron, Ruby and Josh.

In the first game, Hornets took an early lead, but Weston came back with the first half ending 3-2 to Hornets. Some great defensive play and try stopping tries were made which allowed Hornets to finish on top with the game ending 5-2 to Hornets.

Try scorers in the first match were James, David, James, David and Louie.

The second game followed a similar pattern with the final score being 5-3 to Hornets with the try scorers consisting of David, James, Brennan and Keaton.

A special mention goes to Josh for his accuracy at the line-out, and a fantastic pass to Brennan which set him up for a try. Joseph also receives a mention for some great running and tackling and finally a mention to Liam for his strong rucking.

Man of the match for the second week in a row was awarded to Kieron.

The Under-10s hosted local rivals Weston and both sides put in a solid effort with Hornets coming out on top in both games.

In the first game, the ball was mostly in the Weston half of the pitch and Hornets won nearly all of the scrums. The final result was 5-0 to Hornets with tries for Tim Morris, Reef Morton and a hat-trick for player of the match Tom Read.

The second game was tighter but included quite a few mistakes by both sides. There was some solid tackling from Adam Dawood, Lloyd Chudley and Harry McFarling. Morton scored the first two tries for Hornets, but Keelan replied for Weston showing his pace.

Lawrence Pilgrim ran through several Weston players and neat passes from him and Alex Leeks put Morton through to complete his hat-trick as Hornets won 3-1.

Hornets Under-8s took on Weston and competed well in two friendly games.

The squad is showing improvement each week and Laura, Alexander and new boy Jack all had fine games. Alfie showed good defence and Daniel-Russ excelled at tagging and catching. Man of the match was Alexander.

Squad: Robson, Roman, Andon, Alexander, Bethany, Charley, James, Thomas, Daniel, Daniel C, Daniel-Russ, Sam, Alfie, Lewis, Louis, Laura and Jack.

WITH 20 players in attendance, Weston Under-9s were split into two teams against Hornets.

In the first game, the Weston forward trio of Jake Roberts, Ellie Redman and Max Dunstone worked hard to create tries for Alfie Calcutt and Bradley Robinson. Good tackling and running from Joel Briffitt helped Weston gain a lead at the interval.

In the second half, Weston tried hard to break down a stubborn Hornets defence but could not add to their total. Good defence by Jackson Webb, Dylan Way, Lottie Dadds and Stanley Pincott helped restrict Hornets to four tries. Final score was 5-2 to Hornets.

The second game began with Calcutt running in from the kick-off. Briffitt added another before the highlight of the game occurred when Calcutt ran from his own try line to score.

Tom Burge led the way with some fierce tackling, backed up by Briffitt, Savio Quan and Roberts. With the Hornets adding two late tries the game was finely balanced at half-time.

After the break, Weston defended for large periods with Jamie Meadon making some crunching tackles. He was backed up by Webb and Way who was unlucky not to score when he placed the ball down five metres short. Final score was Hornets 5, Weston 3.

Louis Boon, Louis Satherley, Jamie Edgar, Ciaran Kelman, Edward Land, George Charalambous and Charlie Harding all contributed to some fine rugby. Top tackling awards were earned by Alfie and Thomas and the man of the match was Joel.

The Under-8s made the short trip to Hornets for two fantastic games.

The first game was highly competitive and breaks from Tom, Hugh and Jayden gave Weston the early advantage, but Hornets replied with three tries of their own.

Weston managed two late scores from Luke and Tom and were able to hold on this lead until the final whistle to run out 5-3 winners.

In the second game, Weston scored a couple of quick tries from Tom and Oliver, before Hornets equalised. Weston managed to get two more with some good play from Hugh, Jude and Sam. The whistle blew and the game ended 4-2 to Weston.

The Under-12s made the short journey to Hornets for three 15 minute matches. In match one, Weston were soon into their stride against a highly competitive Hornets side and it wasn’t too long before Eddie Davies crossed for his first try of eight he was to score on the day.

Good all round play and some great ball retention meant Weston were able to stay in control to win 35-5. Scorers were Davies (4), Howard, G Bamsey and with his first try for Weston Tom Hughes.

In game two, Weston seemed to lose their momentum after going three scores up and this allowed Hornets to have their best period of the day. The final score was 15-5 to Weston with tries by Davies (2) and Gardner.

In match three, Weston regained their composure and with Aaron Snow and Liam Neale having fine games, Weston were on top in all areas and ran in six tries through Davies (2), Howard, Manning (2) and Gardner.

YATTON and Cheddar Under-15s played host to Old Reds.

The home side took the lead through James Edwards, converted by Jack Edwards. Old Reds were soon on level terms with a converted try. YAC hit back to take the lead through Brennan Hill.

Ben Hutton put in some big tackles and then new boy Ant Abruzzo crashed through to touch down, converted by Jack Edwards to lead 19-7 at the break.

The second period started with both sides trading possession before Ross Henderson won a line-out and Abruzzo crossed for his second try, converted by Mike Gane.

Changes to YAC’s team throughout the second half saw Nathan Jones return from injury to replace Jack Edwards, Harry East replace Miles Winter Dent and Dave Alexander replace Chris Hill. Matt Scully maintained the power in the second row, continuing Jamie Walker’s full on effort.

WINSCOMBE Under-15s inflicted a big defeat against Bath Youth at Winscombe Rec, running out 52-10 winners.

The home side opened the scoring with a try from Josh Daly, converted by Darren Atkins. Then a break from Sam Rees released winger Abbey Mak for his debut try for the club.

Minutes later Rees and Atkins produced some fluid interplay to release Mak for a second, with a second Atkins conversion. Good work in the forwards by Chris Curry and Billy Mullins gave the home side the best of the possession.

Although 19-0 down, Bath hit back with a try. Winscombe came back through the forwards, powerful work setting up a Tommy Parsons try, this time converted by Charlie Beake, before Bath hit back with an unconverted try.

For the final 20 minutes, Winscombe made some changes and began to pull away in the points. First Toby Sims touched down and from the restart Sims almost repeated the trick after good work from Charlie Wannerton and Sam Hartshorne.

Tom Cooksey’s return to the pitch made an instant impact, with Daly scoring twice. Finally Rees came through from deep, popping off to Parsons to complete the scoring. Atkins completed a day of midfield mastery with five conversions in total.