Longlevens RFC

Longlevens got off to a flying start for 2024 by demolishing Chipping Sodbury at Longford Lane.

On a very soft and heavy pitch the Griffins made light work of the conditions and played some fantastic rugby. They stuck to the shape well despite very limited opposition and scored 11 great tries.

Given the conditions the game plan was to look to dominate the set piece and drive through the middle of Sodbury, however it was running rugby that won the day in the end with tries coming at regular intervals in the first half, many straight from a kick off receipt. Seven tries were scored in the first 40 with a hattrick from winger Jake Fox, two from second row Joe Weatherley and one a piece from Ben Collier and Tom Barton.

The second half was a slightly quieter affair with the Griffins giving away penalties and allowing Sodbury to have some possession. This curtailed the scoring opportunities but Longlevens still managed to bag four tries with Tom Evans and Jack Cuthbert getting on the scoresheet and Barton and Collier adding to their first half efforts. James Butler was impressive with the boot and knocked over nine conversions to bring the score to 73, with Sodbury managing to get a consolation score. The referee brought the game to a close with 10 minutes to spare so the score could’ve been bigger, but job done.

Given Chipping sodbury’s position in the league this was a fully expected result but the players did play exceptionally well and played fantastic running rugby. With Nailsea only managing to draw away at Clifton this put the Griffins back to the top of the league before a potentially difficult away trip to Midsomer Norton next week.