Sat 8 Oct 2022, 15:00
Cheltenham North 18 - 47 Midsomer Norton
Norton got their first away win of the season with a seven-try triumph in this rearranged clash.
It was a triumph in the face of adversity for Norton who lost prop Dane Swift to injury in the warmup and vice-captain Sam Church to a just a few minutes in - although not before he had scored from an interception. Cheltenham had taken the lead with a penalty before Church's try and their aggressive early approach initially caused the Norton pack some problems and forced themselves over the line twice in the opening exchanges. Norton hit back with Rideout finishing in the corner, and Taylor's impeccable kicking - converting six of the afternoon's seven tries - restored Norton's advantage.
In the second half Norton had adapted well to the challenges thrown at them, and took the game away from their opponents by fixing the issues in the scrum and with flowing dynamic moves in the backs. Hugh Jeffrey continued his fine form to score a hat-trick whilst the returning veteran Rich Martin also got on the scoresheet. With the final play of the game, Rideout got himself a second try after great work from Rob Viol, who superbly offloaded whilst somehow remaining in play.
The victory moved Norton up to fourth in the table ahead of next week's trip to Burnham-On-Sea.
