Longlevens RFC

Longlevens travelled down the M5 to Thornbury on Saturday for their very first game in the new league. This is the highest level the club have played at and it was good to be exploring new opponents and venues.

After three seasons of very high expectations, with promotion very much the focus, expectations have shifted slightly to establishment at the new level, that being said winning was definitely the aim and in the end the Griffins weren’t too far away.

The game started at a very fast pace, with Thornbury sending out the message of ‘Welcome to level 6’. The phases were quick and they kept the ball very well, and after two minutes Longlevens found themselves 7-0 down. This was compounded five minutes later by conceding a penalty try and a serious looking injury to second row Lewis Locke. This meant a reshuffle, with Piers Fortey coming on at scrum half and Ben Collier shifting from the centre to back row. The other result of the penalty try was a yellow card for Fred McGhee, so all in all, the first 10 minutes weren’t ideal.

The Griffins were very much on the back foot and were starting to give penalties away, this resulted in Thornbury kicking to the corner and executing a good catch and drive to score their third after 15 minutes, 21-0.

Things were looking dicey, but to their massive credit, Longlevens got over the initial fast start and began to get a foothold in the game. From their own line out drive the forwards inched to the line before Fortey used good vision to dummy through the guards to scoot over for a converted try, 21-7. This was followed soon after by a Brad Wilkins penalty to bring the half time score to 21-10.

The fast start had tired Thornbury out, and that coupled with Longlevens quick tempo meant the Griffins were beginning to get the upper hand. Soon after the break James Butler made a nice break only to be tackled short. However, he managed to stay on his feet and was driven over the line to score, converted by Wilkins to bring the score to 21-17.

Belief crept in and both sides were playing with even speed and intensity. Unfortunately, a penalty was conceded that ended up with a line out to defend five metres out. Thornbury drove and then released their backs to go in under the posts, 28-17. Chances came and went for the Griffins to close the gap but two quick and rather soft Thornbury tries put the game to bed, with the score at 42-17. There was still time however to gain that all important away trip bonus point and the boys rallied to ensure they did.

Man of the match, Ben Collier was next to score, using his strength to power over near the posts, and in similar fashion Matt Fatica also went over, bringing the final score to 42-31.

Thornbury were deserved winners in the end, but there were definitely chances for Longlevens to have stolen the game. The players will learn from this and will have taken plenty of confidence that they can compete at this level. Thornbury are a well-established side in the league and finished fourth last year. A bonus point on the road was a good result in the end.