After a break of 5 weeks Keynsham restarted their Western Counties League efforts when they visited Yatton RFC on Saturday.

To say that both sides were rusty would not be an understatement.  After 37 mins neither side had scored and in fact, almost the entire game had been played in a 30 meter strip either side of the halfway line. Place kicking was wayward too with both teams missing a chance to put something in the scoresheet. Keynsham’s tacking was of a poor standard and Yatton nearly scored from long distance. At last just before half time Yatton broke the deadlock with a fine try from their speedy right wing; poor tackling again taking much of the blame. 7-0 became 7-3 shortly after the break with early pressure forcing an error from the home team; Paul Edson kicking the penalty. The errors still flowed from both teams and all of the following 5 tries (3 for Yatton & 2 for Keynsham) came directly from glaring opposition ‘clangers’. Throughout the game there was 1 constant – that was the superiority of the home team’s performance in the set scrums, so their eventual win 22-15 was fully justified. Keynsham’s 2 tries were scored by Russ Tanner, with Edson adding the conversion to one.

There was much better fare on show at the Crown Field. Keynsham 2’s had a really tight game against Bath side Old Sulians.  Although scrappy in parts, the lead see-sawed throughout and the crowd enjoyed the cut and thrust. In many respects it boiled down to a struggle for supremacy between the Keynsham pack and the visitors back-line.In total there were 9 tries scored 5 by the home side, ensuring a bonus point. Keynsham’s tries were scored by Owain Wynne(2), Matt Coughlan, Rob Pyne and James Chuter.  John Bowden added 3 conversions in the final score which read Keynsham 31- Old Sulians 29. Man of the match was Pyne for sterling defensive work as well as his try.

The thirds had a nail-biter at Weston Hornets, squeezing home with the last kick of the game from Matt Sheehan 13-12. A good forward performance by the pack again laid the foundations, and despite losing skipper John Coughlan to a bit of unnecessary violence, which escaped the ref’s notice, stuck to their task admirably; Hugh Kerr was prominent in both tight and loose play. Keynsham had a try from Martin Lewis and a penalty and a conversion from Dave Scott. Scott, returning from 12 weeks on the injured list, was banished from the kicking role allowing Sheehan his chance of glory which he took.