A hat-trick of tries by Tom Burge helped Weston Under-14s defeat Hornets in the Somerset Junior Cup.

Weston Under-14s once again found themselves at The Nest for the first round proper of the Somerset Junior Cup against Hornets.

Before the kick-off, the players from both teams linked arms and stood together in respectful silence to honour the service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their countries.

From the start, Weston went on the attack and after just five minutes Tom Burge powered his way over to score. Hornets reacted in the most positive fashion and despite spirited defence from Weston, levelled the score almost immediately.

Important clearances came from the boots of Hayden, Bradley, Ash, Dylan and Corey, before Weston’s persistence paid off and was rewarded when Burge spotted a gap and cross for his second try of the game to make it 10-5 at the break.

Both sides started the second half strongly, with play switching back and forth and both sides fighting hard not to concede any ground. Eventually, fast line speed from Weston forced the opposition into error and from the turnover, Burge crossed for his third try of the day. Hayden Main converted to put Weston 12 points clear.

Hornets to their credit, upped their game and Weston were forced to defend and prompted some impressive tackling, especially by Ethan Kirkham and Ash Shepherd. The pressure was rewarded by a try in the 40th minute.

Hornets thought they had scored again soon after, but the ball was held up by some great defending by Jake Roberts and Burge. Weston’s excellent defence held out until the final whistle, with the final score a 10-17 win for Weston.

The coaches commended the stand-out performance by Tom Burge, but decided that the man of match award would once again be shared by the whole team for their excellent combined team effort.

Weston Under-8s were up against a strong, with Burnham showing great strength and good passing skills throughout.

On the wings were Frankie Moore and Adam Donachie, who added to the scoreline. Jacob Rumble continued to support in the middle with Henry Jones. Tom Shirlow again played a central role and had to work hard.

Liam Hughes had another excellent game, but the man of the matches went to Tristan Kitson and Joshua Piggott. Tristan’s speed enabled him to get some much needed points on the board, while Joshua gave a fine display in defence and made some great runs through to split the strong opposing defence.

In the second match, Weston had to withstand a strong attacking side and were on the back foot a lot of the game.

Some defending had to take place which Haydn Arnold again was outstanding, well supported by Alfie Vearncombe. Megan Craddy had an outstanding game, supported closely by Lucas Mitchell. Creaney added to the Weston scoreline, while Maddie Newbury linked up well and played a great second game for Weston.

Man of the match went to Connor Shipley.