Keynsham rugby team loses close encounter

Keynsham 1stXV 8-10 Cirencester 1st XV

Supporters were looking forward to the game at the Crown Field on Saturday, where the visitors were Cirencester, as the first match between the sides at Cirencester had provided a most entertaining game.  However, it would seem that both sides had gone off the boil a bit and in heavy, wet conditions the game never rose above pedestrian; and some might say that that was an exaggeration.  Keynsham secured the greater share of possession in the first half but found that were unable to make anything of it, and at the interval were 10-3 down, their only points coming from a penalty by Paul Edson.  Keynsham continued to dominate possession in the second half, but still could not find any fluency and, in truth, did not look like closing the deficit. Bringing on Nicky Lloyd, normally, 2nd team skipper, and switching Graham Sage to centre was the last throw by manager Kevin Moggeridge. This led to a score in the last minute by winger Chris Eames, but the conversion was missed. Keynsham came away with just the losing bonus point and find themselves in danger of becoming embroiled in a relegation battle.

Wellington 2nd XV 10 – 19 Keynsham 2nd XV

Thanks to good club spirit by Beere and Thom, who agreed at the last minute to travel to Wellington, the team was able to arrive with 16 players. Keynsham got off to a flyer scoring a try within the first 5 minutes.  Thereafter they made hard work of it and the home side pulled a try back, leaving the scores tied at break 5-5. They got back into gear in the second half and added 2 more converted tries, but Wellington hit back with a converted try of their own. A serious knee injury to one of the home team resulted in the game being transferred to an adjoining pitch.  With 10/12 minutes to go, neither side could work up much enthusiasm for the rest of the game and Keynsham failed to get the try bonus they perhaps deserved. Keynsham scorers were Paul Williams and Owain Wynne (2) with tries and 2 Matt Fairless conversions.

Keynsham 3rdXV 15 – 0 Gordano 2ndXV

This was a resounding victory where the glory was shared equally between backs and forwards. In really sloppy conditions the home team showed determination against strong opposition and repelled any attacks made by the visitors. It was a complete team victory, without stars, although standoff, Dan Sheppard, did get 10 of the points and made a strong claim for the man of the match award.   Keynsham’s other points came from a penalty try, underlying their pack’s dominance.