Sadly, we have just one fixture this weekend after the 2nd XV were forced to concede their home match against top of the table Amesbury through lack of players.
Tom Claxton leads his team into action against Chippenham at Chippenham this afternoon.
Chippenham sit in 9th place in the table, with 21 points from their 17 matches. Safe from relegation, one would think, Chippenham have registered 3 wins and pushed MInety very hard in the fixture at Minety before Christmas, the village team emerging 20-12 afer a second half comeback. The match was slightly controversial in that Chippenham were allowed to play a significant number of unregistered players on that day, a facility that is not open to Minety. League rules state that teams with a 1st XV in the league can only play registered players whilst those who enter 2nd XV can play unregistered players. Whilst one can see some of the logic behind the league’s stance on this issue, it does significantly compromise small clubs such as Minety, Pewsey, Calne and Sutton Benger who are restricted as to who they can pick and sometimes have to face the possibility of playing fewer than the required number of players.
We are sad that the match against Amesbury had to be called off. Amesbury are a new club to the league and have gone through the season winning all of the matches that they’ve played but also having to cope with a significant number of concessions from teams they were due to play.
Back in November they invited members of the Minety club to join them at a Sponsors’ lunch and we were delighted to be able to go and meet them. Unable to raise sufficient players on that day, Minety “borrowed” 10 Amesbury players and played a hugely entertaining and enjoyable match in front of an enthusiastic crowd of spectators who cheered each team with equal enthusiasm.
We wish Amesbury all the best for the rest of the season and hope that our late concession did not compromise their search for a replacement fixture.
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