Chippenham v Clifton

We reached the final of the Bristol Combination Cup by virtue of the “away team rule” after drawing 7-7 with Chippenham.

There was an element of frustration among the boys at only drawing the game having spent so much time pounding the Chippenham tryline.

In fact the final whistle came as we prepared to make one more attempt to score with a lineout right on the opposition line. By that stage of the game our forwards had the upperhand and had been making some powerful drives from lineouts.

However, we must give credit to some hugely impressive Chippenham defending throughout the match.

At one stage in the second half we seemed to have an endless succession of our forwards picking up from the base of the ruck and driving towards the line only to be stopped inches short each time.

A string of penalties were conceded by Chippenham in and around their 22, which also frustrated our attempts to score.

At one point we had an overlap with flyer Sam Read set for a clear run for the line, but the crucial pass was batted forward by a Chippenham player, resulting in a scrum to us.

Chippenham’s two clear scoring opportunities – one of which yielded their try in the first half - came from us making ill-judged passes in what were very wet and muddy conditions. Taking the tackle and recycling in tight areas was what was called for.

Their try came in the first half after an interception just outside our 22. One of our forwards broke into space and looked as though he was going to drive into their back line. But somewhat out of character for this player he attempted a pass, which went straight to one of their backs. He scored under the posts.

Our try came in the second half as a result from some lateral thinking - literally.

Having been thwarted by running repeatedly into their brick wall of a pack, we tried a different tactic (which perhaps we should have tried earlier) from a penalty some 10 yards from their line.

Luke spun the ball to flyhalf Hugo who gave a short ball to prop Ryley running from deep. This switched the point of attack away from their forwards and gave Ryley the chance to run at their backline.

This time there was no speculative pass. Ryley drove through two tacklers and scored under the posts, which turned out to be crucial in making the conversion easier.

Ryley said: “It was phase after phase and a penalty was given to us. So we passed it out till it came to me. I looked at the two guys towering over me like giants, so I thought to myself I'm gonna burst through and run over the line. I did, and it got us to 7-7.”

We felt that we would go on to capitalise on our ascendancy at that point.

Sadly two Chippenham players were injured in trying to stop the try. One suffered a serious knee injury and was stretchered off. We hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Both teams retired to the changing rooms to keep warm while the injured players were treated.

Having reinforced the message during this break not to make unnecessary passes, and to simply drive in and recycle, straight from the kick-off we made a handling error that could have cost us the game.

We coughed up possession and their scrum-half shot round the blindside of a ruck and seemed certain to score in the corner but for a magnificent covering tackle from full-back Matt, who was outstanding all game fielding their long kicks and running them back.

Overall we had good structure to our game when we had possession and we defended well, not allowing any line breaks. And our fighting spirit was strong.

We need to build on this performance and vary our attack more when we’re not getting success through plan A.

The ref’s handling of the game was much appreciated by our boys. He was consistent and prevented any situations getting out hand in what was a bruising and tense battle.

It would be good to see these two teams play in dry, quick conditions as there were a lot of quality players out there. It would be an entertaining game.

So both teams retain their unbeaten run this season, while we now play the final against Cleve at a venue and date to be determined.

Hamish