Weston Athletic defeated Imperial with just the bare 15 players.

Imperial 10 pts

Weston Athletic 19 pts

WESTON Athletic travelled to South Bristol with a bare 15 players, but came back with an excellent victory.

With a few players out of position, hopes were high for victory. The Imperial pitch was very soft and slippery and cut up badly. Prime pulled a muscle as he lost his footing, but he struggled on, although unable to sprint or kick.

Despite this, the Athletic were able to turn on the power and scored through James Andrews’ effort off the base of the scrum. The extras were missed but Weston looked as though they could take control.

However, following a scrappy period of play, Imperial crossed the Weston whitewash for an unconverted try. In the process, Walker suffered a leg injury and he was sidelined for 20 minutes.

This disruption and player shortage allowed Imperial to score another unconverted try, but as the first-half came to a close, Weston asserted their authority in the forwards and Andrews picked up a second try as the scrum drove forwards. Grimes converted and Weston were leading 12-10 at the break.

The second half was all Weston as the forwards crushed any resurgence from Imperial. Athletic went close on three occasions before a huge drive from a scrum 10 metres out resulted in an Imperial collapse and the referee awarded a penalty try.

Grimes converted and Weston attacked again from the kick-off. A rout looked on the cards, but Imperial argued with the referee and disputed every decision and he blew for no side with 15 minutes still to play.