Midsomer Norton RFC

Midsomer Norton 39-38 Ashford
(Half-time: 18-17)
Tries: Schuster, Viol, Humphries, Abbott, Anderson
Cons: Rideout (x4)
Penalties: Rideout (x2)

Midsomer Norton won the Papa John's Community Cup with a thrilling victory over Ashford.

Almost immediately, Norton found themselves twelve points down - a couple of nervous errors gifting the Kent side the lead within the opening five minutes. Although Tom Rideout's penalty got Norton on the scoresheet, another try saw Ashford 17-3 up after just half an hour.

Midsomer Norton dug deep and increased the intensity and tries from Connor Schuster and Rob Viol, followed by a conversion and penalty from Rideout, gave Norton a slender 1-point lead at the break.

Whilst MNRFC had been firmly in the ascendancy going into half-time, it was a tense start to the second half as Ashford's larger pack sought to grind their opposition down. However, a quick tap-and-go from Kieron Humphries saw him race under the posts to score his 26th try of the season. Rideout converted.

Just as Midsomer Norton looked likely to pull away, Ashford forced themselves back into the game and were rewarded with two tries and a 6-point lead heading into a frantic final ten-minutes.

Next, James Abbott popped up with a try, which was again converted to give MNRFC the lead. However Ashford seemed to have broken Norton hearts with a score with around three minutes to go.

Remarkably, in the 79th minute Scott Anderson skipped through to put Norton within a point - but with the highest pressure conversion to follow. Rideout kept his cool and slotted and Norton survived the final kick off for a famous victory.

Photos by Will Nicol. View more photos from our incredible cup-run on our flickr