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U15 Match Reports 2007-08 (Most recent at Top)20th April 2008 Swindon U15 v Abingdon U15 (Friendly)A cool April morning with a stiffish westerly breeze was the backdrop for what is usually a good contest between these two sides. Against the wind, the home side started brightly and a ruck formed on Swindon's left. Scrum half Jon Hatherall secured the ball and passed it out to number 8 Ben Hornby whose advance was met by a maul. A determined Hornby muscled his way out of the maul to open his side's scoring. Swindon 5 Abingdon 0. Unfortunately fly half Tim Berry could not secure the difficult conversion. Swindon's kicking against the wind was generally poor at this point, but fly half Berry kicked well to the right and this ended up with winger Stephen Holt crossing the line in the far corner. Again Berry could not secure the difficult conversion. Swindon 10 Abingdon 0. Excellent Swindon forwards pressure saw the home side get a scrum 10 metres out and a simple pick up at the back of the scrum saw Hornby's blind side run touch down for his second try of the game. Swindon 15 Abingdon 0. Fly half Berry converted from the central position. Swindon 17 Abingdon 0. Another kick to the right wing saw winger Holt get his second try. Swindon 22 Abingdon 0. The big and impressive visitors forwards managed to pressure their way close to the home side's line, and some defensive errors saw Abingdon get the try from close range. With the visitors converting Abingdon were not out of it at the end of the first half. Swindon 22 Abingdon 7. Half time saw Lawrence Dlucik replace prop Ryan Ashworth and Matt Evans replace Jon Hatherall with Evans covering inside centre and Sam Jones going to scrum half. With the wind in their favour Swindon's kicking game was that much more impressive in the second half particularly Sam Jones at scrum half. Abingdon were is a determined mood with the home side having to muscle it in the middle of the park, so the score remained the same for much of the half. Find-of-the-season outside centre Alex Bishel picked up the ball on the half way line and his jinking solo run on the right was rewarded with a try between the posts to give Berry an easy conversion task to finish the game. Swindon 29 Abingdon 7. An entertaining game and a fantastic performance by Swindon. Very well played both sides. Team: 1 Tommy Gelati, 2 Ryan Ashworth, 3 Stephen Wiltshire, 4 Chris Blackwell, 5 Ryan Mistry, 6 Kierstin Baddeley, 7 Matt Capstick, 8 Ben Hornby, 9 Jon Hatherall, 10 Tim Berry, 11 Stephen Holt, 12 Sam Jones, 13 Alex Bishel, 14 Nick Sullivan, 15 Cory Lotter Replacements: Lawrence Dlucik, Matt Evans 09/03/2008 at home to Devizes (Friendly)A sunny March morning and a heavy pitch was the backdrop for what is usually a good contest between these two sides. With a few players missing Stephen Wiltshire sportingly volunteered to join the visitors front row. Early pressure from Swindon saw play mostly inside the oppositions' 22 metre line, and when the visitors tried to run the ball out rather than kicking, centre Josh MacMillan brilliantly intercepted and ran the 10 metres to score. Second row Chris Blackwell converted from dead centre. Swindon 7 Devizes 0. Swindon forwards built pressure through the centre and the visitors flank players got drawn in so when the home side got the ball out to left winger Kyle Burroughs, his pace was sufficient to carry him past two defenders and run 30 metres to cross the line on the left. As a left footer Blackwell had a more difficult kick this time in terms of both distance and angle but his strike was superb to take Swindon further into the lead. Swindon 14 Devizes 0. In a repeat performance of his first try Burroughs touched down again on the left leaving Blackwell with an even more difficult kick: his effort was well directed but fell just short of the mark. Swindon 19 Devizes 0. The visitors did not lie down at this point but their forwards through some excellent rucking got the ball over and converted. Swindon 19 Devizes 7. Before the first half ended centre Callum MacMillan broke through and again Blackwell converted. Swindon 26 Devizes 7. Devizes started brightly in the second half and through the guts and determination of their forwards got the ball over, their scrum half getting the conversion. Swindon 26 Devizes 14. As the home side lost a bit of their discipline and focus Devizes got another try and conversion before the final whistle. Swindon 26 Devizes 21. 17/02/2008 away to Gosford All Blacks (Friendly)On a cold frosty morning, with first class facilities and a perfect pitch. Swindon only had 15 players available to them due to County/District training and holidays. This was going to be a real test for our boys as Some of our boys were playing in positions that they had not played in before. Each team started off well defensively, after about ten minutes Swindon Gosford 0 - Swindon 5. From the restart Swindon's confidence was starting to grow with Kierstin Baddeley & Tyler Rouse making some good runs to the Gosford 22 metre line, only for the ball to be lost or knocked on. Gosford took the initiative at a scrum and passed the ball out wide where the fly half kicked towards Swindon's 22 metre line. Swindon's Full back tidied things up but were tackled & put into touch. From the line out Swindon's forwards lost the ball and Gosford quickly got the ball wide for their centre to score near the posts. Gosford converted. Gosford 7 - Swindon 5 From the restart Swindon's Ryan Mistry caught the ball & made some good yards
into the Gosford half. He was supported well by Tommy Gelati & Matthew Capstick,
eventually the ball was passed out to the fly half Gosford 7 - Swindon 12 at half time. Gosford started better in the second half, but Swindon held their Gosford 12 - Swindon 12. From the restart Swindon started with their forwards much more competitive
with some good pick ups by Tommy Gelati & Dan Dickinson. Gosford knocked on at a
ruck. From the scrum Swindon got a quick Gosford 12 - Swindon 17. From the restart Gosford won the ball at a ruck and passed the ball left to
their centres, eventually getting to the wing who was tackled into touch near
the halfway line. Gosford won their lineout & started to maul towards Swindon's
22 metre line. The ball eventually was passed out where a Gosford centre went
over for a try. Gosford missed their conversion. Swindon started better from the restart, forwards being more competitive at
the rucks, slowly Swindon started to make their way up to Gosford's try line. At
a ruck in the middle of Gosford's 22 metre, Swindon quickly got a ball out to our
Fly half.. Who made 10 yards in, with the forwards rucking well & the ball was
passed out along the backs with Swindon's winger Nick Sullivan making some space
to go over for Swindon's forth try of the game. Gosford 17 – Swindon 24. With only minutes to go Gosford piled the pressure onto Swindon.. Well done to both teams who each played the game with great sportsmanship. Final Score: - Gosford All Blacks 17 - Swindon 24 Team: 1 Stephen Wiltshire, 2 Ryan Ashworth, 3 Lawrence Dlucik, 4 Ryan Man of the Match: - Kierstin Baddeley Sunday 13th January - away to Henley (Friendly)
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One of the many scrums |
On a mild November morning, Swindon's third cup outing this season was a
must-win affair to keep on track for a semi-final place. This fixture is
normally a good contest with either sides' forward line being equally
competitive. Swindon started off slowly with the home side having the benefit of
the slope in the first half. Dan Dickinson (shoulder injury) was replace by
Tommy Gelati. Trowbridge had a good opportunity to get points on the board with
some good forwards play on their left but with a big advantage in numbers they
failed to spread the play out to their right wing and missed out on some easy
points. Swindon were making hard work for themselves with the home side camped
permanently in the visitors' half, and it was through some good defensive work
and good kicking from Matt Walsh near the try line which got them out of
trouble. Swindon broke the deadlock with some good forwards pressure saw them on
the Trowbridge half with Ellis Reynolds being on hand to core from close range.
A good conversion from Chris Blackwell saw Swindon ahead: Trowbridge 0 Swindon
7. Play reverted to the Swindon half and was marred by almost countless
collapsed scrums. Trowbridge made a good break on their right assisted by a
number of missed tackles from which the try and conversion brought the home side
level on points as the first half whistle blew. Trowbridge 7 Swindon 7.
For the second half Callum MacMillan was replaced by Tim Berry and Luke
Rumble came on for Nick Sullivan. With the slope in their favour Swindon were
more dominant in the second half, although (again) there was a certain amount of
frustration as many of the scrums needed to be re-taken. Swindon had the put in
on their left and a strong run from Luke Rumble saw him go over. Tim Berry could
not quite get the distance for the conversion. Trowbridge 7 Swindon 12.
Determined play by forwards Kierstin Baddeley and Ben Hornby saw Swindon get
close with Luke Dicks going over from short range. Man-of-the-match Sam Jones
was replaced by Cory Lotter and Josh was replaced by his brother Callum. As the
final whistle blew Swindon finished the game worthy winners. Trowbridge 7
Swindon 17.
Team: 1 Luke Dicks, 2 Harry Bunt, 3 Dan Dickinson, 4 Chris Blackwell, 5 Ryan
Mistry, 6 Kierstin Baddeley, 7 Ellis Reynolds, 8 Ben Hornby, 9 Sam Jones, 10
Matt Walsh, 11 Nick Sullivan , 12 Callum MacMillan , 13 Kyle Burrows , 14 Josh
MacMillan, 15 Tyler Rouse.
Subs: (used) Luke Rumble, Tommy Gelati, Tim Berry, Cory Lotter; (not used) Ryan Ashworth, Stephen Wiltshire, Matt Evans.
On a misty November morning, Keynsham were a last-minute replacement for Clifton. Not having played Keynsham before, the home-side supporters were not anticipating the result, but the visitors looked good in their pre-match training and drills.
The fixture got underway with the teams evenly matched though each side could not make that important breakthrough. Just before half time, Swindon got the scrum ten metres from the Keynsham line, and from this a blind side move saw Luke Rumble go over on the far left. Unfortunately Tim Berry got the direction, but could not get the distance for the conversion as Swindon looked the stronger at the break: Swindon 5 Keynsham 0.
In the interval, Tommy Gelati replaced Ben Hornby, Chris Blackwell replaced Ryan Mistry and Matt Capstick replaced Matt Evans.
In the opening of the second half plucky full back Tyler Rouse picked up an injury so that Sam Jones came on, swapping positions with Matt Walsh. Pressure from Keynsham forwards saw the visitors muscle their way over the line on the right, and then their backs responded with some excellent passing to get a second on their left. The conversion saw the visitors establish a good lead: Swindon 5 Keynsham 12. Ryan Ashworth replaced Harry Bunt, Stephen Holt replaced Callum MacMillan and Ryan Mistry came back for Luke Rumble. Keynsham continued to pressure but Swindon defended well notably Matt Walsh at full back. With the Swindon forwards tiring, and the side as a whole losing a bit of concentration, Keynsham scored two further tries down their left channel to finish the match worthy winners. Swindon 5 Keynsham 22.
Team: 1 Luke Dicks, 2 Harry Bunt, 3 Dan Dickinson, 4 Luke Rumble, 5 Ryan Mistry, 6 Kierstin Baddeley, 7 Matt Evans, 8 Ben Hornby, 9 Cory Lotter, 10 Matt Walsh, 11 Kyle Burrows, 12 Tim Berry, 13 Callum MacMillan, 14 Josh MacMillan, 15 Tyler Rouse.
Subs: (all used) Matt Capstick, Ryan Ashworth, Chris Blackwell, Tommy Gelati, Sam Jones , Stephen Holt .
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A conversion |
With a perfect pitch and first class facilities the only downer on this October morning was the cold horizontal drizzle. Gosford started with a number of underage players.
Each team started off well defensively but the bigger Swindon forwards pressured the home side to the line and inside centre Tim Berry ripped the ball and crossed the line. Gosford 0 Swindon 5. Outside centre Callum MacMillan go the second on the left which was converted by Berry. Lock Chris Blackwell got his first try of the season with a powerful effort from short range so that the visitors looked comfortable with another good performance from man-of-the-match flanker Matt Evans. Gosford 0 Swindon 17.
At half time Ben Hornby replaced Tommy Gelati, Stephen Wiltshire replaced Lawrence Dlucik, replaced Harry Bunt, Josh MacMillan replaced his brother Callum, Tyler Rouse replaced Matt Walsh and Jon Hatherall replaced Sam Jones.
Plucky Gosford started the second half brightly to get their first score of the game. Swindon got their passing game into gear in the second half, and unusually prospered from a penalty on the Gosford 22 metre line with winger Kyle Borrows burning a path to the line. Gosford 5 Swindon 22. Kierstin Baddeley replaced Matt Evans and Ellis Reynolds replaced Matt Capstick. Gosford responded with another good try to bring them back in contention, however Burrows got his second which Berry converted to maintain the points gap in favour of the visitors. Dan Dickinson was replaced by Luke Dicks. Berry got his second with an effort on the left and when substitute Number 8 Ben Hornby picked up from the back of the scrum and scored the game was safe for the visitors: Gosford 10 Swindon 39. There were a number of good passing moves in the game by Swindon none more so than when Hornby broke on the right passing to Berry then to Burrows then inside back to Berry for the fly half's hat trick. Berry secured the conversion: Gosford 10 Swindon 46. It is difficult to work out which one is the quicker of the MacMillan twins, but Josh's 30 metre effort including a superb dummy with a Berry conversion meant that Swindon finished comfortably: Gosford 10 Swindon 53.
Well done to both teams who each played the game with great sportsmanship.
Team: 1 Dan Dickinson , 2 Ryan Ashworth, 3 Lawrence Dlucik, 4 Ryan Mistry, 5 Chris Blackwell, 6 Matt Capstick, 7 Matt Evans, 8 Tommy Gelati, 9 Sam Jones, 10 Cory Lotter , 11 Stephen Holt, 12 Tim Berry, 13 Callum MacMillan, 14 Kyle Burrows, 15 Matt Walsh.
Subs: (all used) Josh MacMillan, Ben Hornby, Jon Hatherall, Harry Bunt, Stephen Wiltshire, Tyler Rouse, Luke Dicks, Kierstin Baddeley, Ellis Reynolds.
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Swindon on the way to a try |
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The winning try! |
On a fine and sunny October morning the distinct slope from right to left, meant that Cirencester had advantage in the first half.
As is now customary Swindon started slowly and the home side were 7 points in credit after two minutes with a strong run down their right and some good cross field passing which ended up with a try on their left which was easily converted. With some good passing and support through the middle, Swindon responded with and effort from Luke Rumble. Unfortunately Matt Walsh was unable to convert from what was a difficult position. Cirencester 7 Swindon 5. The pressure came back on the visitors, and when they tried to run the ball out from the back the home sides' forwards were quickest to the ball, and again Cirencester made no mistake with the conversion. The home side piled on the pressure with another converted try as Swindon continued to lose the ball in most of the contacts. Cirencester 21 Swindon 5. Swindon needed to close the gap and after some good forwards pressure saw Luke Dicks score from close range. At the half time whistle Swindon were still in contention: Cirencester 21 Swindon 10.
At the interval Matt Capstick, Sam Jones, Cory Lotter, Lawrence Dlucik, Dan Dickinson and Tim Berry replaced Matt Evans, Stephen Holt, Jon Hatherall, Ryan Ashworth, Stephen Wiltshire and Callum MacMillan.
Swindon looked forward to prospering with the advantage of the slope in the second half. Cirencester continued with their good kicking game at the re-start and this was countered with some good kicking from full back Tyler Rouse. The visitors continued to pressure and prop Dan Dickinson was delighted to get to a loose ball behind the Cirencester line to register his first try of the season, with Tim Berry doing well to secure the conversion. Cirencester 21 SWindon 17. Latching on to another good kick forward, winger Kyle Burrow's jinking run saw him go over. Berry's excellent conversion saw the visitors in the lead for the first time in the game. Cirencester 21 Swindon 24. Despite some robust tackling in the centre from Sam Jones, continued pressure from the home side saw Cirencester respond with a try and conversion: Cirencester 28 Swindon 24. The pressure was now on Swindon with 5 minutes to go. The opportunity came when Swindon had the put in, in a scrum 10 metres from the Cirencester line. The obvious move was on the blind side, but a good pick up from number 8 Ben Hornby saw him go in the opposite direction and muscle his was through to touch down between the posts. Cirencester 28 Swindon 29. Berry continued with his 100% conversion rate with the final score being Cirencester 28 Swindon 31.
Well done to both teams who each played the game with great sportsmanship.
Team: 1 Luke Dicks, 2 Ryan Ashworth, 3 Stephen Wiltshire, 4 Ryan Mistry, 5 Luke Rumble, 6 Kierstin Baddeley, 7 Matt Evans, 8 Ben Hornby, 9 Jon Hatherall, 10 Matt Walsh, 11 Stephen Holt, 12 Josh MacMillan, 13 Callum MacMillan , 14 Kyle Burrows, 15 Tyler Rouse.
Subs: (all used) Cory Lotter, Matt Capstick, Dan Dickinson, Tim Berry, Sam Jones, Lawrence Dlucik.
Man of the Match: Luke Rumble.
With a fine morning and a dry pitch, the large turnout were anticipating a
keenly fought contest.
The visitors started off the stronger but Swindon gradually gained territory
with Wootton Bassett conceding a penalty. The decision was to go for an
ambitious penalty kick and although Chris Blackwell connected well the ball
drifted to his right. Swindon in turn conceded a penalty in a more central
position and the visitors went ahead with a good kick. The territory was gained
and lost with some good running with the ball from the visitors and some hefty
kicking into touch from Blackwell. As the Swindon forwards fought for possession
this often came to nothing as the backs were either to far advanced to get any
momentum or they repeatedly tried to run through the middle where the visitors
were strongest rather than get the ball to the wings. A promising move on the
left was wasted as Nick Sullivan and Callum MacMillan did not receive the ball
when they had a two-to-one man advantage.
At half time, Corry Lotter replaced Sam Jones, Luke Rumble replaced Ryan
Mistry and Luke Dicks replaced Tommy Gelati. The second half degenerated into a
bad tempered affair which distracted the home side from their game plan, and
despite having the majority of the possession, Swindon failed to learn from
their mistakes of the first half. Matt Capstick came into the Swindon forwards
line. Promising runs from forwards Luke Rumble on the left and Ben Hornby
through the centre were well defended by the visitors. After another good
forcing move from the Swindon forwards, Hornby went over although play was
pulled back as a Swindon player was adjudged to have knocked forward. Swindon 0
Wootton Bassett 3.
Team: 1 Tommy Gelati, 2 Harry Bunt, 3 Dan Dickinson, 4 Ryan Mistry, 5 Chris
Blackwell, 6 Ellis Reynolds, 7 Matt Evans, 8 Ben Hornby, 9 Sam Jones, 10 Matt
Walsh, 11 Kyle Burrows, 12 Tim Berry, 13 Nick Sullivan, 14 Callum MacMillan, 15
Tyler Rouse.
Subs: (Used) Cory Lotter, Luke Rumble, Luke Dicks, Matt Capstick, (Not used)
Stephen Holt, Matt Freeman.
Man of the Match: Harry Blunt.
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Swindon score! |
It was a crisp and bright October morning but the only thing to dampen the
spirits was the immediate lack of coffee facilities required to get the away
support into gear. Not having played Oxford in recent years, it was difficult to
predict the outcome for Swindon in this fixture but with three relatively
comfortable wins under their belts, confidence was high.
In the early encounter the home sides forwards matched Swindon in the scrums,
rucks and mauls. With a simple passing game across their back row saw Swindon's
Kyle Burrows ground the ball on the far right. Stephen Holt looked lively on the
left, and when a good passing move from Matt Capstick created the opportunity
for Tommy Gelati to touch down with Tim Burry getting the conversion. Despite
some wild throws to no-one in the centre which other teams may have punished,
Burrows picked up the loose ball in a bunch of players and with a good solo run
saw him go over with Berry converting. Luke Rumble got his name on the score
sheet which started from a burst from Burrows. With Berry converting, the first
half finished with the visitors 26-0 in front but with better passing Swindon
could have been even further ahead.
Rumble added his second try early in the second half from short range and
then Ben Hornby's burst through created the opportunity for Rumble's his hat
trick. Hornby was in the action again from a Swindon lineout ending up in a hat
trick for Burrows. Berry converted to take Swindon points tally to 43. With the
home side losing their shape at this point, Callum MacMillan realising he was
free, grounded which again was converted by Berry for the visitors half century.
Berry was in the action again when he was first to the ball following a Burrows
kick forward and converted to pile on the agony for Oxford. Burrows got his
fourth try on the left as the final whistle blew with score at Oxford 0 Swindon
62. Well played Oxford especially their forwards who played with a lot of heart.
Squad:
Ben Hornby, Callum MacMillan, Cory Lotter, Dan Dickinson, Jon Hatherall, Kyle
Burrows, Lawrence Dlucik, Luke Dicks, Luke Rumble, Matt Capstick, Matt Evans,
Matt Freeman, Nick Sullivan, Ryan Ashworth, Ryan Mistry, Sam Jones, Stephen
Holt, Stephen Wiltshire, Tim Berry, Tommy Gelati, Tyler Rouse.
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Swindon's winger |
After two wins under their belt Swindon under 15's were confident coming into their first cup outing this year, but with narrow victories against Bradford in the last two seasons, the visitors needed to be on top of their game. With the pitch in good condition , and a fine breezy September morning Swindon put a makeshift side as a number of the backs were missing.
As is traditional with Swindon, they seem to hand the initiative to the opposition early on letting the home side score from a scrum 5 metres from their line. The visitors struggled to find any rhythm and could not seem to settle into their normal patterns of play failing to take advantage of their possession, whilst some wayward kicking handed the ball to Bradford. An offload from flanker Matt Evans to makeshift inside centre Ben Hornby, saw the backs' diagonal run to the right, muscle his way through the line and touch down with three Bradford defenders in attendance. With fly half Tim Berry getting the conversion, the 7-5 lead seemed to get Swindon settled into a groove. Swindon failed to make use of two scrums close to the Bradford try line through either poor distribution or over-elaborate play. However with sustained pressure, and a loose ball behind the Bradford try line gave the opportunity to any one of three Swindon forwards to get their hands on the ball with Ellis Reynolds just ahead of Evans. Swindon finished the half ahead 12-5 but should have been in a much more dominant position.
Harry Bunt replaced Ryan Ashworth for the second half. Uphill and against the wind, after good distribution to the left winger Kyle Burrows speed saw him over the line with Berry getting the conversion. Swindon 19 Bradford 5. Burrows' speed on the left again came into play with a touch down from Berry from close range. Swindon 24 Bradford 5. Bradford got a try back through the middle which the Swindon forwards on another day would have prevented, to let the home side back into contention. Another cross-field run, this time to his left, saw Hornby make good ground to the 5 metre line where Reynolds was on hand to touch down from short range. Swindon 29 Bradford 12. To their credit Bradford would not lie down and some good pressure from their forwards was snuffed out by the efficient Matt Walsh. A Berry forward kick was met by winger Nick Sullivan who rose like salmon to catch and run, with Berry getting the conversion. Stephen Wiltshire and Jon Hatherall replaced Dan Dickinson and Sam Jones. With the Bradford side sustaining another injury, and with insufficient players to carry on, the referee called a premature halt to the tie with Swindon being worthy winners. Swindon 36 Bradford 12.
That's three wins out of three.
Man of the match: Tommy Galati.
Team: 1 Luke Dicks, 2 Ryan Ashworth, 3 Dan Dickinson, 4 Ryan Mystry, 5 Chris Blackwell, 6 Ellis Reynolds, 7 Matt Evans, 8 Tommy Galati, 9 Sam Jones, 10 Tim Berry, 11 Kyle Burrows, 12 Ben Hornby, 13 Kierstin Baddeley, 14, Nick Sullivan, 15 Matt Walsh.
Subs used: Harry Bunt, Stephen Wiltshire, Jon Hatherall.
Sub not used: Tyler Rouse (injury)
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Swindon
handing off a |
With six players away Swindon fielded an experimental side against Trowbridge. The larger Trowbridge pack dominated from the beginning and their right wing picked up on a kick forward to touch down. Trowbridge 5 Swindon 0. The Swindon scrum half (Jon Hatherall) and fly half (Tyler Rouse) combination for the game got into the grove with some crisp distribution when Josh MacMillan crossed the line after some good pressure. Trowbridge 5 Swindon 5. A few minutes later Josh MacMillan repeated his earlier effort and Chris Blackwell secured the conversion. Trowbridge 5 Swindon 12. Josh got his hatrick with a break through the centre and Blackwell got the conversion. Trowbridge 5 Swindon 19. Brother Callum MacMillan got into the act with jinking run through middle to take the score to Trowbridge 5 Swindon 24. Swindon looked dominant at this point with Hatherall and Rouse passing like clockwork and the fly half kicking well when the visitors threatened, but they sat back to let the home side get two tries back to finish the first half. Trowbridge 15 Swindon 24.
Swindon forwards looked more determined in the second half with props Dan Dickinson and Stephen Wiltshire getting stuck but this was not sufficient to stop the home side getting two tries and a conversion to take them into the lead. Trowbridge 27 Swindon 24. The away support was getting restless at this point. Josh MacMillan was replace by Sam Jones. A good forcing movement by the visitors saw Rouse wriggle has way to the line so Swindon re-took the lead. Trowbridge 27 Swindon 29. The home side swiftly responded with a try of their own. Trowbridge 32 Swindon 29. Swindon immediately responded when Callum MacMillan got his second try and Blackwell secured the conversion under some pressure. The away supporters were almost beside themselves when the home side responded with a try and conversion to take Trowbridge into the lead with 5 minutes to the whistle. Trowbridge 39 Swindon 36. The stand in coach made a last gasp change by bringing Josh MacMillan back in favour of the ever-lively Nick Sullivan, and this proved inspirational when Josh touched down on the left to take the visitors into a narrow lead. Trowbridge 39 Swindon 41. With two minutes to go, the next points would win it, and the game was on a knife edge. To the relief of the travelling supporters fly half Rouse got his second try of the game which Blackwell ably converted to seal the win for Swindon. Trowbridge 39 Swindon 48. That's two wins out of two!
Man of the match: The whole team.
Team: Dan Dickinson, Chris Blackwell, Ryan Mystry, Josh MacMillan, Callum MacMillan, Kyle Burrows, Nick Sullivan, Tyler Rouse, Stephen Wiltshire, Sam Jones, Tommy Galati, Matt Capstick, Stephen Holt, Jon Hatherall, Matt Freeman.
Sub: Sam Jones
Under a sunny September sky, and with the new pitch to play on, the Swindon players, coaches and parents were out in strength anticipating a good competitive opening game of the season. Fixtures with Wootton Bassett are always closely contested with Swindon narrowly winning away in March.
As anticipated the match was a physical contest with Swindon starting off
brightly. Their forwards were eager for the ball and the first period of play
saw the home side camped in Wootton Basset's half. For all their early
domination, Swindon could not find a way through with the visitors defending
their territory well. The deadlock was broken with some pressure on their left,
number 8 Ben Hornby managed to kick the ball over the try line and was quickest
to the ball to open his sides' scoring for the season. Chris Blackwell narrowly
missed what was a difficult conversion. Swindon 5 Bassett 0. The Swindon
forwards continued to pressure when big prop Luke Dicks got the ball over from
short range. Blackwell again just missed out on the conversion. Swindon 10
Basset 0. Sam Jones replaced the injured scrum half Cory Lotter before the half
ended.
For the second half, Tommy Galiti replaced prop Dan Dickinson, and Matt Capstick replaced flanker Kiersten Baddeley. The second half started off as competitive as the first with the visitors getting close to Swindon's try line. Being awarded a penalty, Bassett were virtually there but some excellent defensive work by the Swindon forwards from their try line denied the visitors what would have been a deserved try. Bassets advances through the middle were thwarted by some good tackling especially from fly half Matt Walsh, and their long balls were neatly tidied up by fullback Tyler Rouse. Matt Evans replaced flanker Ellis Reynolds, and Ryan Ashworth replaced hooker Harry Bunt. The speed and mobility of backs Kyle Burrows, the MacMillan brothers and Nick Sullivan stretched the play across the pitch and Sullivan was able to burst through to score from short range. Blackwell secured the conversion taking the score to Swindon 17 Basset 0. At this point the game looked secure for the home side and prop Stephen Wiltshire replaced Hornby. The game ended with Swindon dominant and pleased they kept a clean sheet.
Man of the match: Nick Sullivan.
Team: 1 Luke Dicks, 2 Harry Bunt, 3 Dan Dickinson, 4 Chris Blackwell, 5 Ryan Mystry, 6 Ellis Reynolds, 7 Kiersten Baddeley, 8 Ben Hornby, 9 Cory Lotter, 10 Matt Walsh, 11 Josh MacMillan, 12 Callum MacMillan, 13 Kyle Burrows, 14 Nick Sullivan, 15 Tyler Rouse. Subs used: Stephen Wiltshire, Sam Jones, Matt Evans, Tommy Galati, Matt Capstick Subs not used: Stephen Holt, Jon Hatherall, Matt Freeman, Lawrence Dlucik.
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