Winscombe Under-13s defeated Bristol Saracens in the preliminary round of the Bristol Combination Cup.

WINSCOMBE Under-13s made an impressive start to the new season with a win over Bristol Saracens in the preliminary round of the Bristol Combination Cup.

Josh Hunt was the scorer of Winscombe’s first try when Neil Mathieson drove to the five yard line. No 8 Hunt picked up at the ruck to drive through the defence and score. Will Macarthur converted. Minutes later, Sam White dived over for the second try.

Winscombe were on a roll and the forwards made good ground before Mathieson scored with Macarthur converting. Saracens dug deep and then pounded the home side’s try line. Winscombe’s defence held firm and they were relieved to hear the whistle.

In the second half, Louis Yallop broke free and made good ground. An excellent offload to the supporting George Marsh got the home side close to the line. Forwards George Harrison and Hunt linked well to force their way over, Harrison coming up with the ball.

Saracens soon had Winscombe under pressure again and got on the score sheet to reduce the deficit. Winscombe hit back with a solo run from Mathieson to score his second. Saracens had the last say when they scored a try to make it 29-12.

HORNETS Under-13s took part in their first-ever cup match away at Nailsea & Backwell, but were unable to beat the stronger and bigger opposition, losing by six tries to three.

Hornets started well, but Nailsea scored two tries to go 14-0 up. Hornets started winning ball in the scrum and strong running by the backs got Hornets close.

A quick tap penalty by Solomon and the ball was spun along the line until Keane Williams was held up close to the line. Solid rucking by Robinson and Parkman resulted in a Hornets’ scrum. From the resulting scrum, a good heel by Cocking and control at the base by Holyday and Solomon pounced to score Hornets’ first try.

The second half started badly for Hornets when Nailsea ran back the kick off to score, quickly followed by two more tries.

Hornets took the game back to Nailsea. Good interplay and a quick ruck found Coe in space. The resulting scrum saw Holyday picked up to score. From the next kick off, Hornets returned with vigour and quick ball down the line found Derham in space to race to the corner. A final try on full time saw Nailsea run out 38-15 winners.

The Under-16s gave Winscombe a 50 point drubbing in the first round of the Bristol Combination Cup.

Early pressure was turned into points when Josh Caulfield scored twice in quick succession, one of which was converted by Adam Francis for a 12-0 half-time lead.

The second half was a different story as Winscombe’s tired defence disintegrated along with their discipline. First on the scoreboard was Francis, before centre partner Andrew Wheller scored.

Josh Wheeler then punished a poor clearance kick when he sprinted in for Hornets fifth try. Wheller then burst clear on halfway after Balkham’s offload to scorch in for his second try. Wing men Josh Lowrie and John Xanh grabbed a try each, while Connor Davidson added four conversions to make the final score an impressive 50-0.

Alex Colborne and Joe Smith were in superb form in the back row, while captain Ryan Massey had a fine game at loose head, but the Newport Caravans man of the match was awarded to Lewis Brake.

The Hornets team would like to wish Winscombe scrum-half Scott Franklin a speedy recovery from a broken collar bone suffered in a collision.

IN their first game of the season, Yatton and Cheddar Under-15s beat Walcot 55-5 in the preliminary round of the BJC Cup.

Yatton took the lead on five minutes when quick ball was passed wide to centre Olly Cornish to score, but Walcot hit back to equalise within five minutes. After that, Yatton took control and scored further tries in the first half by James Edwards (2), Ben Hutton and Jack Edwards, who also converted all the tries and kicked a penalty.

After the break, Tom Patch battered his way over, soon followed by another try for James Edwards, both converted by Jack Edwards.

Full-back Jack Masters scored the last try, running through a tired Walcot defence to score, converted by Jack Edwards.

Special mention to YAC players Ant Abruzzo, (second row), Spencer Williams (hooker), David Alexander (centre) and Miles Winter-Dent (wing) who were excellent on their debuts.