Sat 25 Sep 2021
Midsomer Norton 19 - 15 Cleve
Midsomer Norton 1st XV beat Cleve in a tight battle that went to the bitter end. With 3 matches in play at Norton Down it was a great day for the club as rugby also resumed for the 2nd & 3rd Team.
It was clear from the start the intent from Norton and Cleve as they both looked to use there strong forward packs to gain a foothold in the game.
Cleve were first to cross the whitewash, a series of short pick-and-go drives saw the visitors gain a 7 point lead early on.
Following a break from the halfway line, Norton Winger, Gregor Morgan, scored his first try for the 1st XV. After shooting down the wing, he cleverly kicked high in field only to link up with Rob Viol who offloaded to put Morgan in space as he ran under the posts. 7-7. A penalty from Cleve took the score to 7-10 going into the break.
The second half started with Norton striking just moments after kick-off. The ball being handed down the line to James Fuller who flicked a lovely out-the-back pass to Rob Viol to slide in taking the score to 12-10.
Both sides made use of the catch and drive lineout and gained ground when doing so. From one lineout deep inside the Cleve 22, Norton number 8, Joe Button, patiently dotted down after a strong maul that came rolling over the line. Taylor added the conversion taking the score to 19-10.
Cleve showed no sign of giving up, with 5 minutes of play left on the clock they shifted the ball wide in a last ditch attempt to dive over the line only to be held up by Norton winger Harry Smith who capped another fine game with this defensive effort. The referee did not see a grounding therefore rewarded a scrum to the visitors however it was the Norton pack who overturned this scrum on their own 5 metre line to release the pressure.
A final attack in the last play of the game for the Norton boys saw them fail to gain the bonus point but despite this still a great win at home. Credit must go to Cleve who played well throughout and almost clinched the result at the end of the game. Final score 19-15 to Midsomer Norton.
