Victoria Saxons have been crowned Weston & District Division One winners after beating Ashcombe Crusaders in their top of the table clash recently.

With two matches left to play The Saxons sat in second, 24 points adrift of the Crusaders, but the last match of the season was a crucial match between the two teams vying for the title. 

The Saxons welcomed Burnham to the Quadrant and won all six rinks in a superb all-round team performance and recording a 148-64 win giving them 20 points up for grab and closing the gap to four points with the visit to Ashcombe to come.

The Saxons then took the short trip to Ashcombe for the decider. The equation for Victoria was firstly to win the match but also to ensure that the Crusaders did not win four rinks.

The match began in wet conditions to add to the drama; with tension in the air neither team took control. As the match progressed it was Victoria who were on top and despite a spirited last few ends from Ashcombe they held on to win the match 100-97, in another great contest.

The Vic picked up three winning rinks for a 14-6 points win to claim the title. The heroes were the Wheatley rink with Whyte and Campbell who won 22-7 to set up the victory.

Captain Phil Owen’s rink featuring Puddy T and Holland had a truly excellent game won 21-16 and finally the trio of Cooper, Carpenter and Burgess 15-11 completed this amazing win, to crown the Saxons as Weston & District Division One winners.

Victoria pushed local rivals Clevedon all the way but fell just short in the North Somerset Knockout Cup final.

Clevedon boosted several players that had played in the national finals at Leamington, making the Vic underdogs.

In good conditions the Westonians came out firing and at one stage looked very capable of pulling of a huge shock. But as the match was reaching its climax Clevedon finished strongly to win by a meagre two shots, 101-99. 

On the green Victoria won three out of the five contests with Dan Nutt’s rink leading the way with Coumis, Sloman and Burgess winning 22-16. Mike Cooper’s rink with Puddy T, Wheatley and Owen 20-18 and Colin Heal’s team of Rossiter, Gibbs and Gazzard won a nail biter 22-21

Despite the loss the Victorians did themselves proud and hopefully if they clinch promotion next week, this will hold them in good stead for the future.