CHOSEN HILL FP 21 YATTON 7

With Chosen starting the match at the bottom of the table and Yatton just one place above them, this was a hugely important match for both teams and despite having to play up the slope and into a slight breeze it was the visitors who started strongest as they quickly moved the ball around to dominate the first ten minutes in terms of both territory and possession, but Chosen’s well organised defence was able to cope with everything the visitors threw at them and it was the home side who opened the scoring after twelve minutes.

The Chosen forwards won a ruck near half-way and new signing number eight Stewart Hendry picked up the ball and broke through the Yatton defence to sprint to within metres of the line, as he was finally tackled he slipped the ball to supporting flanker Tom Gyde who dived over under the posts. Full-back Ashley Lewis added the conversion to give his team a seven point lead.

Yatton continued to play expansive rugby as they looked to get points on the board but Chosen’s confidence was growing all the time and Lewis added penalty goals after twenty and thirty nine minutes to give Chosen a comfortable thirteen point interval lead.

Yatton started the second half as they had the first using their forwards to pick and go as they put more pressure on the Chosen defence but they got nothing for their efforts and after the home side broke away into the Yatton twenty two Lewis increased the lead with his third penalty goal after fifty five minutes.

Chosen then added a second try as their forwards drove up the left touchline and Hendry, who was having a fine debut game powered over in the corner. Lewis missed the difficult conversion but Chosen now held a twenty one point advantage.

Chosen lost second row Rich Planchant to the sin bin for preventing a Yatton player take a penalty kick and while he was off the field the visitors camped up near the Chosen line. A series of five metre scrums saw the Chosen scrum under pressure and after scrum number four the referee awarded Yatton a penalty try which they duly converted for the last score of the match.

Having started the season with a five point deficit, Chosen have now got themselves into a position where they can look to try and move up the table and there are now four teams in the league who have won less matches than the three that Chosen have, however next week Chosen face a difficult away fixture at high flying Weston Hornets.