Winscombe Under-15s reached the Bristol Junior Combination Plate final in convincing style.

WINSCOMBE Under-15s reached the final of the Bristol Junior Combination Plate in convincing style with an all-round team performance.

From the start it was clear that Winscombe had learned some valuable lessons from recent games, where their tackling has let them down.

No 8 Sam White barged his way over for the first of his three tries which included a 50 metre individual piece of magic.

The front five of Painter, Clough, Hancock, Oxley and Mcarthur were prominent at the breakdown and in the scrum providing plenty of quick ball.

Fly-half, Joe Hartshorne mixed his game up with surging runs, deft kicking and some clever passing moves which released the rest of the backs into space.

Full-back Connor Wall showed what a devastating runner he can be with two tries and some clever offloads. Tom Amer introduced plenty of pace to the proceedings scoring one try and setting up two.

He was ably supported in the centre by Louis Yallop, while wings, Stig Merryfield and Joe Duran showed great attacking flare and defensive work which resulted in them both scoring fine individual tries to which Hartshorne added to his tally of five conversions in a final score of 50-7.

Special mentions go to George Harrison, George Marsh, Gabe Bell, Kit Butterworth and to Mrs Melhuish for providing the after match mince pies. Also a big thank you goes to John and Hon Ogden in the clubhouse for another fine after match meal.

WESTON Under-13s travelled to a wet and cold Bristol to play Old Reds in what proved to be a true rugby contest.

Weston were soon ahead when an interception from Kyron Pearce saw him sprint over the line for a try which was converted by Joe Harper. Max Seymour-Shove connected with Rhys Matthews to send Lewis Patterson over shortly after and Weston ended the half 12-0 ahead.

At the restart, Reece White’s run set up Danilo Harness for a great try. Unfortunately Weston let off the pressure and Old Reds were soon on the score sheet with three unconverted tries. Weston held firm despite great pressure on their own 22 until great play from Seymour-Shove set up Harper in the last minutes of play. Harper converted his try and Weston won 24-15.

HORNETS Under-13s hosted Broad Plain and ran out 36-5 winners.

The hosts opened the scoring when Rhys Clarke scored. The second came after several phases of play up the middle of the field opened the visitors’ defence and Lockie Carver Cox crashed through under the posts, with Bradley Lucas adding the extras.

From the restart, Hornets moved it from one side of the pitch to the other and back again. Owen Brake was caught close to the line, but Harry Williams collected the pass to score the best try of the day, again converted by Lucas.

A few changes at half-time unsettled the hosts, which Broad Plain took advantage of by scoring their only try of the game.

Hornets bounced straight back with Quentin Querl collecting the ball deep in his own territory and running untouched to score a fine try. Oscar Brown followed suit with a barnstorming run and Querl had the final score, with the extras added by Lucas.

The Under-12s hosted Wellington in excellent conditions and went behind to a Wellington try, despite good defence from Lawrence Pilgrim. An early converted try in the second quarter extended the visitors’ lead, but this was clawed back as Tom Read barged his way through to touch down.

Alex Leeks converted and Hornets were back in the game, especially as they were winning all the scrums. Hornets passing became wild in the third quarter and Wellington capitalised with two further converted tries.

Big tackles were put in by George Flack and Reeve Bailey, while Harry McFarling gained many metres for Hornets with his direct runs. Read scored again, but Wellington sealed it with a fifth try that was converted to win 33-12.

The Under-8s entertained Wellington on a pleasant morning at the Nest. A total of six games were played, which meant the three Hornets’ sides each had two games and plenty of time to demonstrate their attack and support play and is now showing in the amount of turnover ball the squad is winning.

All the players contributed something in either attack or defence in a good all-round performance by the squad.

The Under-10s played four games against Wellington and both sides fought hard with plenty of tackling, especially from Louie, Sam and Roman.

All the players were committed and are improving, with a good all-round performance from everyone.