Yatton RFC

19 November 2005-11-21

Nailsea & Backwell 3rds 7 -- Yatton 3^rd’s 49

The home side met encountered the old rivals in rampant mood when they met for the second derby fixture in a few weeks.

Yatton turned on a true team performance, in both forwards and backs and at times produced some champagne rugby, against an always gallant and committed Nailsea side who were outgunned on the day.

The pack provided good possession from both set pieces and loose play and the backs ran with determination, always supporting each other and that was the key to the scoreline.

Nailsea defended well but on too many occasions there was an additional supporting Yatton player to make the difference.

The fact that all the tries came from the backs emphasised the forwards’ superiority when it mattered. Centre Doug Crossan man of the match, scored a hat trick as did winger Adam Noble, with Darren Pugh the other wing coming in with two. At outside half Justin Andrews revelled in the possession he received and distributed well. The front row claimed three against the head to complete the honours.

The two most noteworthy tries came form Doug Crossan and Darren Pugh.

The former picked up a loose ball halfway in the opposition half and showed pace, strength, and focussed determination, to run through several defenders. The latter resulted from a superb high ball take deep in his own half, from fullback Paul Richardson. Taking the ball at full pace, his speed injected him past the first line of defence to link up with his backs who worked the ball through to the winger.

Nailsea-Backwell never stopped trying and they were awarded a controversial penalty try for technical infringement in the last few minutes. Their forwards were determined to salvage something from the afternoon and they deserved their last minute reward.

Scorers:

Tries: Doug Crossan (3) Adam Noble (3), Darren Pugh (2) Justin Andrews (1)

Conversions: Justin Andrews (2)