Sat 14 Dec 2024
Longlevens were on the road to league leaders Chippenham on Saturday and a James Butler inspired performance very nearly won the match for the much-depleted Griffins.
This fixture had been a worry for the management and coaching staff since the news that half the team would be away in France watching Gloucester came through in the summer.
However, there wasn’t any need to worry; as the season has gone on lots of players have put their hands up and the strength in depth means that the squad is still very strong beyond the usual, regular players.
The match started at a pace you would expect on the 4g pitch and Chippenham were off to a flyer, 10 nil up within 10 minutes through two well worked tries. The Griffins were not perturbed by this and set about moving the ball to the wide channels, using the perfect conditions to their advantage.
Butler, who was to score 16 of the 26 on the day, made a break up the right-hand side and fed Mike Yorke to score, converted, 10-7. Chippenham responded with a converted score of their own to make it 17-7, but the rest of the half belonged to Longlevens as they put continued pressure on Chippenham. Ill-discipline allowed the Griffins to keep the scoreboard ticking over with three Butler penalties meaning the score at halftime was a close 17-16.
The players grew in belief during the first half and it was clear from the team talk that all 18 had the desire to go out and win the match.
Chippenham again started strong but resolute Longlevens defence kept them to just the three points from the boot during the opening 10. However, the pressure soon turned into a try wide out to bring the score to 25-16.
Another highlight reel try from Butler reduced the deficit again to 25-21, as he made a break from half way, stepping inside then arcing out to score in the corner. Unfortunately, Chippenham responded by scoring out wide again to widen the gap to 30-21, meaning the Griffins still had work to do to get anything from the game.
Mike Yorke then scored a second try to make it a four-point game when he hit a great line and bounced the first tackler to dot over the whitewash, 30-26, giving the Griffins hope of an unexpected victory. The Chippenham 10 had other ideas though as he managed to get on the outside of the first defender in the Longlevens 22 and sprint under the posts to take the game beyond the Griffins and 37-26.
There was still time to get something from the game and a try would have given Longlevens two bonus points. There were two opportunities to do this in the closing stages but a fumble and a line out fail meant both chances went begging and the team were left ruing their luck.
This was a gritty and determined performance from a group of players who haven’t all played together before and the boys that were called into the squad all proved they are up to the task. Harry Morris fitted into the 12 shirt very well, which bodes well for the future, and Rhys Costello, Stefan Ciocirlan and Jack Muncaster all stepped up and filled very big shoes. Veteran Back Rower, Dave Hughes, came into the team after a few weeks out and marshalled the pack well also.
Next week the Griffins are at home to Witney, #UTFG.
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