This week we’re dividing up the reviews of the weekend’s action, dealing with Division 1 today (Monday) and Division 3 tomorrow. Wednesday’s post will be the MTV feature and we’re hoping to prise Benny away from his bottle of gin long enough to get him to do some stats for Thursday or Friday.
Minety’s loss to Combe Down was disappointing but not unexpected. The Bath side have run away with the league this season, despite the valiant efforts of second place Avonvale. 19 wins and 16 bonus points from 19 matches is a record to be proud of and there was no doubt that their settled squad is brimming full of confidence. The 7-43 defeat may seem like a big defeat but actually Minety matched their illustrious opposition for large phases of the match. Conceding two converted tries in the first 6 minutes didn’t help the home cause and three more in the 3 or so minutes either side of half time killed off the match but Minety, with a young and inexperienced team, did themselves proud.
The fixture that we were all watching was, of course, the one that matched the sides on either side of us in the table. In the end 8th placed Sutton Benger picked up all of the points against 6th placed Trowbridge. The result keeps Trowbridge within range for Minety as we enter the last phase of the season with just three matches to come.
Royal Wootton Bassett’s win against 11th placed Calne gave them a bonus point and makes it well nigh impossible for Minety to catch them whilst Supermarine’s loss to Avonvale makes relegation look likely. Avonvale maintained their 12 point deficit to Combe Down at the top but also benefited from Warminster, who started the day in 3rd place, losing heavily at home to 9th placed Chippenham. Minety play Warminster in the last match of the season at Minety Fields and will hope that they can secure points from that game.
Elsewhere, Melksham climbed into 3rd place with a win over Pewsey Vale, who drop below Chippenham into 10th place. Melksham are Minety’s next opponents, a week on Saturday, over at Melksham. They will certainly be a tough test for the village team, Melksham being the top placed Wiltshire team in the league.
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