Bassett made to pay the penalty

BASSETT paid the price for fielding an inexperienced experimental side.

Coach Nick Cavill took the opportunity to introduce three new players to the first team; scrum half Rob May, number eight Luke Ashmore and replacement Duncan Cook.

Bassett competed well in the first half and it looked as though the half would remain pointless until a late Painswick try secured a 7-0 half-time lead.

Cavill, playing his senior match in four years, urged his men on for the extra effort during the break but Bassett were unable to raise their game sufficiently to thwart a dangerous Painswick attack. The home side scored three tries, two late on, to clinch a deserved victory.

Bassett will be slightly disappointed at the scoreline but a very different team will be on show for this week's important home league match with Corsham.

One worrying aspect to the match was the loss of veteran Kiwi centre Steve Cunningham through injury. The former Bedford player sustained a leg injury in the first half, but remains hopeful of being fit by Saturday.

Royal Air Force Veterans 50, Wootton Bassett Veterans 0

IN windy conditions at RAF Lyneham, Bassett veterans were convincingly beaten by a well drilled and hungry full RAF Veterans XV.

Bassett played very well at times and were unlucky not to score a couple of tries, with Steve Woods, Stuart Pryde and John Ricketts all held up either close to or over the line. Bob Walbyoff at fly-half was man of the match and he had a point to make as an ex- RAF Vet who lost his place to a younger player.

Minety 17, Cricklade 0

THREE well-worked first-half tries from Minety were enough to seal Cricklade's fate on Saturday.

Both teams became bogged down in the second half, but while Minety continued to press till the final whistle, Cricklade had no real answer to either their hosts' forward superiority or the tactical constraints of playing rugby in one of the muddiest corners of Wiltshire at the end of one of the wettest autumns on record.

Squelching through the standing water and liquid mud on the Nigel Bishop Memorial Ground, Minety ran in their first try after only five minutes.

Playing down the hill, they opted for a tap and drive when awarded their first penalty inside the Cricklade 22. Having tied in the opposing forwards, the home pack smoothly recycled the ball which was then couriered smartly down the threequarter line to winger Matt Burgess, who duly rounded the cover to score.

The next half hour saw Minety produce a cheerfully improvised mixture of the brilliant and the woefully inadequate, alternating passages of sustained skill and industry with moments of pure farce. Over-elaboration and over-ambitious passing were principally to blame for promising moves breaking down, on a day when both sides found it difficult to hang onto a ball rendered horrendously slimy by the all-pervasive Minety mud.

The Minety pack eventually put an end to the stalemate by driving over from a five metre scrum, heaving their opponents back by brute force. Cricklade did their best to stop them, but Minety kept control of the ball and flanker James Smith claimed the try as he and his team-mates piled over the line. James Tweedale added the conversion to give the home team a 12 point lead.

Maintaining their advantage, Minety came straight back from the restart and Tweedale scooped up the ball from scrum half Duncan Drewett to crash over for the score.

Minety face a stern challenge this weekend as they play hosts to second in the table Frome, while the second XV, who were denied a game last weekend when their opponents pulled out of the scheduled fixture, take on the Frome second string.

Bath Saracens 2nds 31, Malmesbury 24

AFTER their two previous matches had been cancelled due to unplayable pitches, Saturdays' match at the Sulis Club on Claverton Down was a qualified success for Malmesbury.

The pitch, though damp, was not very wet, the sun shone and both teams played with enthusiasm at times.

Both sides were depleted due to illnesses, and so they faced each other, 14-a-side without regular front row forwards and so an agreement for uncontested set scrums was arranged.

The home side took the honours by three goals and two tries to two goals and two tries, despite a final rally by the visitors, which looked like forcing a draw.

Away from the set-pieces both sets of forwards worked hard, some in unfamiliar positions. One try on each side came from opportunist runs from tapped penalties. Both hookers, and both flankers (in a match with only one flanker per team) scored. The four forward tries including the two from tapped penalties. Of Malmesbury forwards, Russell's charging runs and Elson's scrummaging were notable.

Club skipper Steve Brady played his first full game at scrum half for Malmesbury after injuring his hand. His play was sharp, his service to his backs was quick and accurate, and his solo runs had lost little of their former penetration. The sun was out and it was a day for running rugby. All four wings scored tries. The difference between the scores being due to Chris Carmichael, who scored two for Saracens. Likewise, both teams kickers missed two conversions attempts, but Sarries' Tudor Croft had five attempts to Malmesburys' Jason Aylotts' four.

Phil Roberts opened the score for the visitors when he touched down in the corner after beating his opposite number to the line.

This was countered by Carmichaels' first score, made by his centres who outflanked the Malmesbury defence, leaving an overlap and an open line.

Malmesbury regained the lead after a breakaway run by Brady opened a gap in the Saracens' defences. Passing to Richard Cass, the flanker scored under the posts, providing Jason Aylott with a simple conversion.

Gareth Hurd's try for Saracens, presented Tudor Croft with an awkward kick, from the right wing, however, he made a good job of it.

Fisher scored following a maul win in midfield. Brady took the ball and passed to Mark Goodway. Looking for support, he found Cass, who passed to Bunn and then to Fisher. There was no stopping him and he took ball and opposing winger over the try line to score.

In the last ten minutes, Malmesbury hurled themselves at the Saracens' line, but with limited success. Chris Hunt's try came from a short penalty and was scored by kicking the ball over the try line for the touchdown. Cass followed up in support, and Aylott added the conversion.

The final difference between the two sides was that the home team played their game steadily, and while the visitors succeeded in producing some exciting bursts of play, they did not seem to have the confidence to finish them all by scoring.

Chippenham 24, Weston Hornets 21

CHIPPENHAM moved into the fifth round of the Intermediate Cup, but it was more by good fortune then anything else.

Outplayed by their visitors from South West Division Two West, Chippenham had the failings of the opposition goalkicker, who missed six simple penalties, to thank for their progress in this lucrative tournament.

Scrum half Tim Dunford mopened the scoring for Chippenham, with James Barnard adding the conversion, Chippenham increased their lead with a Barnard penalty soon after, before Weston began to work their way into the game.

Centre Tom Crockett showed both pace and power to break through a number of tackles to score in the corner. With Barnard adding a wonderful touchline conversion Chippenham held an unlikely 17-7 lead.

It was at this point that Chippenham's discipline began to fall apart. Finally the referee took action and sinbinned prop Terry May shortly before half-time and Weston were able to score a second converted try.

The second half started in a similar vein, with Chippenham giving away needless penalties.

Chippenham tried to attack on the break and from one such break full back Barnard set up McMillan for one of the simplest tries he's likely to score this season.

Weston hit back and for the remainder of the game. After pounding the home side's line for a full five minutes, Weston were awarded a penalty try. For once the Weston kicker managed to get the ball over the bar to convert the try, but it was too little too late as Chippenham held on in a frantic last five minutes to win.