Hornets remain top of the Premier League

Imperial 0 pts

Hornets 34 pts

HORNETS travelled to Bristol to take on Imperial and although they managed another bonus point victory to maintain their lead at the top of Tribute Somerset Premier League, it was far from a vintage performance.

Having been forced into making eight changes to the side that started the previous week’s game, Hornets again had to rely on their strength in depth.

The first 20 minutes saw scrappy play, Hornets making several scoring chances only for their efforts to be wasted. After several incidents, the referee sent both hookers to the sin bin.

Hornets broke the deadlock on the half hour. Scrum-half Nick Francis took a quick penalty and Phil Hogarth crashed over out wide for the only score of the first half.

Soon after the break, John Ferguson left the pitch for a blood injury and was replaced by Tom Bradley, who managed to make a break with almost his first touch.

Well supported by the forwards they managed to earn a penalty five metres from the home line. Again Francis took this quickly and darted over himself for the second try.

The third try came from an attacking line-out. The ball was caught in the middle and driven on before being spun to the backs. It was passed all the way out to winger Stu Vinnicombe who scored in the corner. Sam Lloyd-Jones missed the extras.

Hornets mounted an attack from a penalty and Sam Lloyd-Jones touched down, which secured the bonus point.

Now into injury time, Hornets had an attacking scrum, Francis made a break blind and popped a pass to Vinnicombe who scored his second try. Paul Sheppard was successful with the conversion.

From the kick off, Hornets were now firing on all cylinders. Another break in the backs, this time by John Ferguson saw him pass inside to Lloyd-Jones in support. He crossed under the posts for his second try and Sheppard kicked the extras.

With this came the final whistle and Hornets had won an ugly game 34-0.

On Saturday, Hornets return to Hutton Moor Park to play Midsomer Norton.

Hornets 2nd XV 25 pts

Weston Athletic 22 pts

THIS local derby started with Weston putting pressure on Hornets’ line and within 10 minutes went 7-0 up.

Hornets stuck to their game plan and kept the ball going wide where they were bolstered by the return of Nick, Dan and Buzz from university and pressure on the Weston line led a penalty try.

Weston came back and gained the lead going into the half 10-14 up and then kicked an early penalty to increase the lead to seven points.

Hornets spread the ball wide which put Elvis in the clear. With the game finely balanced, Weston scored again. Hornets’ pressure in the scrums from Salway, Whitford and Febus was starting to tell as Hornets gained a penalty towards the end of the game which Sommers put over the bar to get the lead 25-22.

Baker and Milsom kept things solid and Burrell at scrum-half, linked well with the backs, keeping Weston on the back foot.

Weston had two late chances to win the game with penalties, but Hornets managed to hold on.

Bridgwater Albion 3rd XV 29 pts

Hornets 3rd XV 0 pts

After a two week break, Hornets 3rd team had a top of the table clash with Bridgwater.

Bridgwater showed their intent by scoring their first try within minutes. Hornets defended superbly and kept them at bay until their second try was scored.

After the break, the forwards scrummaged well and the line-out was steady. The ball was moved through the backs which saw a few breaks by Paul Morrissey and Mike Kilpatrick and some excellent pace from winger Andy Parker.

Late in the second half the Hornets were reduced to 14 players when Paul Cullum was sent to the sin bin.

In the last minute of the game, Bridgwater were rewarded with a try and taking top position in the league with Hornets now second.

A good performance saw the return of Mark Millman, but the man of the match was hooker Chris Sadler.