Winscombe remain in the promotion race

Winscombe 29 pts

St Bernadette’s 7 pts

Winscombe remain in the promotion race after their latest victory against St Bernadette’s.

The hosts were put under pressure from the kick-off, with the loose ball being hacked into the dead-ball area and touched down for a converted try to Bernadette’s in the first minute.

Winscombe were soon on the scoresheet when Aaron Ford’s catch at a line-out 10 metres out, turned into a driving maul and Paul Cashman touched down in the sixth minute.

Nine minutes later, Cashman picked up at the base of a scrum for Lewis Podpadec to send Callum Stewart to the visitors’ 22 where Winscombe were rewarded a penalty.

After securing the line-out 10 metres ou, they chose to scrummage when awarded two further penalties and the second from five metres was pushed over for Cashman to claim his second try, converted by Dan Salway.

After some driving by the forwards, a space opened up for Ford and Cashman to combine to send Stewart to Bernadette’s 22. The visitors were penalised at the line-out and as before chose to scrummage. Two more penalties resulted in two more scrummages and from the second, Cashman completed his hat-trick.

Winscombe’s ninth penalty gave them an attacking line-out from which Ford and Rutherford fed Stewart. The hosts added the bonus point when Podpadec burrowed over from a five-metre scrummage on the stroke of half-time.

After the break, Winscombe were able to kick for position and move close enough for the powerful trio of Simon Thompson, Dan Fryer and Adam Scrase to give a platform for an inevitable quartet of tries.

The game briefly came alight when after failing to make any headway after a good period of continuity, Bernadette’s kicked poorly for position and Ben Burke charged up his wing on the counter.

From a solid scrummage, Will Higginbottom, just off the bench at No 8, Podpadec and Rutherford got the ball to Stewart on the other wing, but the move fizzled out.

Winscombe finished the scoring when Higginbottom made a good break from the base of the scrum and substitute Louis Hooper made the best pass of the game for James Flower to scythe through the cover defence. Salway converted and the referee blew for time four minutes early.