Nailsea & Backwell enjoyed a hard-fought derby victory over Yatton.

Nailsea & Backwell 19 pts

Yatton 13 pts

THIS was a typical hard, but fair local derby, with the home side getting revenge for the defeat at Yatton.

The visitors, playing down the slope, started well and scored an unconverted try after 10 minutes. The home side responded well with the forwards taking more control and it was no surprise when from a forward drive, No 8 Richard Palmer touched down, with Nathan Dowling adding the extra points.

Both teams were giving their all and the defences were not giving many chances, but following good movement across the backs, the visitors again took the lead with an unconverted try.

With a few minutes left of the half, the Nailsea forwards pushed forward and when the ball was released, it was quickly played blind for winger Aaron Rice to power over and with Dowling converting, Nailsea took a four-point lead into the break.

With the slope now in their favour, the bigger home forwards kept the ball in the opposition half and from another maul, prop Luke Caswell powered over to give Nailsea a two-score lead.

As with the first-half, the defences were on top and the only other score was a Yatton penalty with five minutes remaining. Yatton felt they could still win, but Nailsea were not to be denied and easily held out for a well-deserved win with a much-improved team performance.

NAILSEA and Backwell Rugby Club is looking for people to develop new, potential six nations world cup stars.

The club urgently need volunteers to coach its talented Under-6s (Y1) and Under-7s (Y2) starting in September. If your child is interested in playing tag rugby next season, why not help out and coach the team?

You do not need to be qualified, all training will be provided by the club, along with all the support you need.

If you are interested, please contact either Matt Hole on matthewjhole@gmail.com or Phil Mathews on pmathews1999@gmail.com rr check out the website:

www.pitchero.comclubsnailseabackwell