Gloucester Div Three

Norton 0

Minchinhampton 34

MINCHINHAMPTON overcame a pitch that resembled Glastonbury after a heavy weekend, straw included, to record a a superb win thanks to a display of fine old school rugby.

Camping inside the Norton 22 from the outset, careful control and excellent rucking eventually resulted in the ball being recycled wide where Allen opened the scoring.

Norton responded and only a last-ditch tackle from Sparkhall kept them out.

Phase after phase of excellent Minch control from all 15 players, led to scrum half Hiatt going in under the posts.

With the wind picking up the game was littered with errors from both sides.

Taking control once again, and led by the front three of McCollom, Neil Wood and Cooper, Minch pushed towards the Norton try line. Great support play from Langford and Hester combined to put Allen through a gap in midfield and after throwing an outrageous dummy he beat the defence again to make it 17-0.

Playing into the wind for the second half, Minch continued where they left off. The forwards and backs combined to put Bray-Warner on the charge, and an excellent finish from Kimber topped off a superb team score.

Despite the bonus point being in the bag and conditions getting worse, Minch chose not to back off and another relentless attack saw full back Turner bursting through a gap and showing good pace to finish in the corner.

Norton did establish a period of possession and wave after wave of attacks were repelled by robust defence, notably some great hits from Dan Wood and Maller.

Minch were determined to have the last word and, playing from deep in their own half, captain Austin led the charge with the help of Humberstone and Hester to set up an easy task for Allen to complete his hat-trick; Hester converted.

Given the tired legs on the swamp-like pitch, a superb days' work.

Team spokesman Sam Hester said: "Everyone played very well in those conditions. We were determined to pay them back for a very difficult loss a few weeks ago. So job well done by all."