Sat 11 Jan 2020
The A XV travelled to Plymstock on Saturday to face the side who were 5 points above them in the Merit Table. Kingsbridge had 16 players but were short of a prop in the front row, thankfully Albion Oaks had an extra prop and leant him, and with Brecon Trigger stepping up to the plate, and propped adequately for the whole game, meant the fixture had contested scrums. The first half saw Kingsbridge kick off with the advantage of a strong wind behind their backs and for the first 25 minutes the game remained scoreless with ball handling being tested by the wind and there were many knock-ons by both sides. The closest the A XV got to scoring was when Nick Bidwell picked the ball up from the base of a ruck about five metres from the line drove over but the ball was stripped from him as he was trying to touchdown. On the 25th minute there was an unfortunate head injury to a home player which meant a long break. When the game was restarted with a scrum to Kingsbridge, and from that scrum Kings played possession rugby with the forwards picking and driving which eventually saw hooker Callum Holbrook crossing the line to break the deadlock, James Ogglesby converted. Kingsbridge scored their second try of the match just before half time, when Man of the Match, Jack West was on the end of some good handling by both the forwards and backs and he was the one to cross the line, again Ogglesby converted to make the score 0 - 14 at half time. Kingsbridge turned around wondering whether this lead would be enough with the home side having the advantage of the strong wind. Kings fears were quelled somewhat, when they were the first to score in the second half, the try was scored by Jack Mason when he managed to kick through the ball, when Plymstock had made a handling error, and the out sprint the full back to touchdown. Plymstock were next on the score sheet, they scored from a five metre lineout catch and drive.
Kingsbridge's bonus point try came next and was the try of the match. Plymstock had cleared their lines using the wind with a kick, vetertan fullback Dale Jeffries took the ball in his own 22 broke a tackle and then passed to centre Billy Oram, who then proceeded to break through another two tackles, and then on the home sides 10 metre line, timed his pass perfectly to winger Max Bewley who out sprinted the covering defence and score in the corner. PAO were still not finished and their second try came when they were awarded a penalty in the away sides 22, it looked as if they would kick for touch, however quick thinking from their flyhalf saw him kick the other way and with a favourable bounce over the Kingsbridge defender Plymstock's winger took the ball and scored. The final score came with the final play of the game, Kingsbridge were attacking and the ball came to Jack West who jinked past 2 defenders inside the 22 and sprinted to touchdown, Ogglesby converted to take the final score to 14 - 31. This was a well deserved win for Kingsbridge as all 16 players worked tirelessly for the win. And with the last score taking the win margin to more than 14 points it denied the home side a losing bonus point which would have put them a point ahead on Kingsbridge in the Merit Table, however because the A XV's points difference is superior to PAO's it means Kings move up to third place in the table. Kingsbridge will be looking to keep this winning start to the New Year when they entertain Plympton Victoria at High House at the weekend.
