Saturday 14 January 2012
Fourteen good men of Minety
Dorset & Wilts Division 3 North
Melksham 3rd XV 0pts – Minety 2nd XV 51pts
A 14-man Minety second team put in an outstanding performance to trounce a full-strength Melksham 3rd XV by 51 points to nil.
Having lent lock Toby Edmonds to the first team, Minety seconds could only muster 14 players to travel to Melksham. Their hosts had a good sized pack but failed to cope with their visitors’ grit and determination.
Recognising the need to establish an early lead, Minety blitzed Melksham with 46 points before half-time. Outside centre James Pike and winger Luke Smith scored a brace of tries apiece, and there were tries also from flyhalf Will Howse, inside centre Tim Vaughan and fullback Michael Scott, plus a final one from skipper Steve Murray at prop. Pike, Howse and Vaughan all contributed conversions.
The home side played with much greater conviction in the second half. Their man advantage began to tell as the visitors tired, but Minety refused to concede a try and kept on tackling.
In the dying minutes, Minety returned to the attack, opting to run a quick tap penalty. Murray drew the defence and then released fellow prop Dan Dickens to bulldoze over for a try.
Minety’s man of the match was centre Tim Vaughan. His cutting runs and organisation of the backs was the dominant factor in the first 40 minutes, while his tackling in the second half inspired all those around him.
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