Rugby - Dorset & Wilts Division 1 (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Rugby - Dorset & Wilts Division 1

Minety 25pts - Blandford 3pts

PLAYING with the confidence and fluency that they have threatened to show all season, Minety put together an outstanding 80 minutes of rugby in which they comprehensively outplayed their Dorset visitors. The home pack dominated up front and their backs ran in three good tries while restricting Blandford to a single penalty goal in response.

Playing into the teeth of a gale, Minety initially found themselves pinned back into their own half as Blandford repeatedly kicked downfield with the wind. Their response was to concentrate on retaining ball. Driven on and co-ordinated by scrumhalf Andy Brown, the forwards repeatedly ran up the fringes of rucks and mauls, taking short passes and breaking the gain line before recycling possession.

Following the example of their captain, flanker Charlie Gawthropp, props Andy Hurley and Dave Coughlan both put in the hard yards, as did the formidable second row combination of brothers Craig and Damon Smith. Once they had gained ground and tied up the defence, Brown would then release the backs to run the ball wide.

A dislocated finger for Brown failed to halt his activities for long, and once coach Andy Ward had popped the joint back into place, he returned to his pivotal role of marshalling his pack.

Blandford had no effective response to these tactics and repeatedly infringed in their attempts to prevent their opponents from scoring. Opting to kick one of the resulting penalties into touch, Minety set up a lineout five metres from the visitors' line. The forwards then snapped up the ball from the throw in and smuggled it to Brown, who arced round behind the packs and wriggled through the defence to score.

Flyhalf James Tweedale successfully kicked the conversion, and although Blandford subsequently got back into the game with a penalty goal, the sides turned round at half-time with Minety leading by seven points to three, despite having played uphill and against the wind.

After the interval, Minety were able to change their style to take advantage of the prevailing conditions, using the high ball to torment their opponents. The wind strength made it hard for Blandford to clear their lines, and it was a misjudged clearance kick shortly after the restart which led to Minety's second try. Snatching the ball out of the air on their opponents' 22, the three-quarters stormed forward, wrong footing the Blandford backs as they ran out of defence. A last-ditch tackle from the full-back almost killed the move, but outside centre Simon Barrett snatched up the loose ball and dived over for the score.

Another successful conversion attempt made it 14-3, but Blandford had clearly learned from the experience. Adopting Minety's earlier tactics and keeping their passes short, they then enjoyed their best spell and on one occasion made it as far as their opponents' try line. The home team kept their heads, however, and made sure that there was no way through their determined defence.

Having survived the onslaught, Minety returned to the attack. Hooker Dave Peirce's steady aim in difficult conditions and excellent jumping by flanker Philip Sturgeon ensured a steady supply of lineout ball, which Tweedale then converted into points, first with a beautifully struck drop goal from 30 metres, and then with a penalty goal after Blandford had strayed offside.

The final score came in the closing minutes after the home pack had once again battled their way into their opponents' 22. Taking clean lineout ball, the forwards set up a catch and drive, and when this was finally held up just short of the line, the ball was fed back to Brown, who popped it out for winger Luke Huckin, who dived over for a try in the corner.

This was a vital win for Minety and finally moves them up from eighth to seventh place in the table. With only three league games left, it is crucial that they repeat the result on Saturday week when they play hosts to third placed Trowbridge. Before that, however, Minety face another stern challenge as they travel away this Saturday to take on the Chippenham second XV.