Sat 9 Oct 2021
Midsomer Norton 33 - 28 Gordano
It was the old-players reunion at the newly refurbished Norton Down on an unusually sunny and warm October afternoon for what was a highly entertaining match against Gordano Sharks.
Gregor Morgan had an outstanding game in his first opportunity to play at scrum half for the 1st IX and it was from his quick footwork timely pass that put Murphy in for the first try, which Taylor converted.
Norton’s second try was a counter-attacking classic. Gordano cleared long from a 22 drop-out and it was recovered by Rob Viol who set up an attack involving most of the impressive Norton backs who, through slick handling and simple straight running, created an overlap for Noah Watts to storm down the right wing before finding Viol on hand to score under the posts. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you pass the ball before you are tackled.
Taylor added a penalty that put Norton in a commanding position only for Gordano to come storming back to take advantage of the extra man after a daft sin-bin for throwing the ball away. Gordano scored twice during this time as they completely dominated possession and showed patience and composure to score twice making the score 17 v 14.
Norton built a lead through another Taylor kick and from Edgell who crashed over from a maul. However, the Sharks continued to impress in the set-piece, giving the home side’s pack a hard time, whilst also utilising their big ball carriers to make the hard yards. Two more hard-earned tries after much pressure, and outstanding cover-defence from the Norton backs in particular, put the game on a knife edge as the game went into the final minutes.
Gordano were denied a try in the corner by a quite incredible try-saving tackle from Gregor Morgan that delighted the crowd and the introduction of Chris Harper meant that the left-side of the pitch for the visitors was closed for business. Taylor’s final kick capped a faultless performance from the centre and Norton were relieved to hear the final whistle after an excellent match between two good sides. The spectacle was hindered slightly by the amount of penalties awarded against both sides when attacking that stifled continuity, but even so the supporters were thoroughly entertained and Norton’s classic second try was the main talking point from the game as the old-boys reminisced about their own world-class tries of the past.
