Longlevens got back on track with a bonus point win at home to Bridgwater. This wasn’t a vintage performance; however, the vast majority of the team hadn’t played for seven weeks so it was expected to be a disjointed affair.
The set piece was a positive and this is where the first score came from. A dominant scrum deep in the Bridgwater 22 was pushed forward and number 8 Steve Phillips picked from the base to use his bulk to crash over, converted by Wilkins, 7-0.
The scrum was becoming a dominant feature for The Griffins and they took several against the head. From one such situation on the Bridgwater 22 the ball came back to Phillips who lifted to Wilkins. He then found Tom Griffiths who fizzed a lovely pass to Tom Barton to scorch around his man for a second score, 14-0.
The next try came from some lovely flowing rugby. A scrum on the left allowed good ball for the backs to sweep the ball through the hands to the right wing. The ball was then recycled and the forwards had a couple of goes at the line from short distance. With no luck coming from that the ball was worked wide back the other way for James Butler to speed in and score the third, 19-0.
The fourth and important bonus point try was a very well executed kick and chase. The ball was moved through the phases and powerful runners were making inroads into the defence. From clean ruck ball, Brad Wilkins box kicked into the 22 for Jake Fox to pounce on and scorch in for the final score of the half, 24-0.
Hopes were high of achieving at the least the same score in the second half and recording an impressive win. However, the second half descended into a poor game with neither side really able to string anything together. Bridgwater scored first to claw back some points, 24-7, then 38 minutes passed where nothing much happened. Finally, with the game pretty much over Longlevens turned it on again and finished the game with a score from their own half. The ball was moved to Tom Barton who capped a fine performance with a 50-metre run to almost the try line. Butler was tracking him well and was on hand to take the final pass to score, making the final score 31-7.
Lack of game time and match fitness can definitely be attributed to this indifferent performance, but much more will be needed and expected next week in the league decider away at Cinderford.
The maths is simple, Longlevens need to get four more points than Cinderford on Saturday and the title is theirs. #UTFG.
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