Dorset & Wilts Div One North

Minety 19

Royal Wootton Bassett 22

MINETY had to settle for a losing league bonus point in the always much-anticipated local derby clash with Royal Wootton Bassett which the visitors edged 22-19.

Minety started the day in fifth place in Dorset and Wilts Div One North, two places above Bassett who came off an excellent performance the week before when they were only narrowly defeated by the unbeaten Corsham side.

In a fast-paced opening sequence, both teams moved the ball well but were unable to retain possession long enough to make real inroads into the defences.

Minety took the lead in the 15th minute when scrum half Garin Garland slotted a penalty from 25 metres out after Bassett players were penalised at a ruck.

Bassett hit back five minutes later after some sustained pressure had pinned the villagers back in their own 22. Spotting the defence out of position, Bassett’s scrum half picked up the ball at the base of a ruck and ran in to touch down beneath the posts. The conversion was successful and Wootton Bassett led 7-3.

Minety struck back four minutes later when Garland fed the Minety captain Andrew Hibbard, who crashed through the Bassett defence to score near the posts. Garland’s conversion restored the home team’s lead at 10-7.

When Bassett’s defence was caught offside Garland extended the lead to 13-7 with a well taken penalty in the 27th minute.

The visitors hit back soon after when an attempted clearance kick was charged down and Minety’s defence were unable to reset properly. Bassett stole the ball from the ensuing ruck and spread it out left for the outside centre to run in and score. The unsuccessful conversion left the villagers with a narrow 13-12 lead which Garland extended in the final minutes of the half to bring the half-time score to 16-12.

The home side started the second half promisingly. Tall second row Ben Collins made his presence felt up front while full back Duncan Simpson’s entries into the line placed added pressure on the visitors’ defence.

In their final matches for the village club, long-serving flanker Steve Brown and winger Ben Langridge both put in huge tackles to force Bassett back as Minety upped the pressure.

The match, so evenly balanced, changed direction in the 60th minute when Minety were forced into major alterations up front after prop forward Peter Andrews was withdrawn with a head injury and influential scrum half Garland was yellow carded shortly afterwards.

With Minety down to 14 players and Simpson moving from full back to scrum half, Bassett took control and crossed for their third try wide on the left in the 66th minute. Their fourth, and bonus point-winning try, came four minutes later, this time the inside centre touching down wide out on the right.

Garland, back from his 10 minutes in the sin bin, kicked a penalty for Minety in the 73rd minute to cut Bassett’s lead to just four points but, as the light faded and the minutes ticked away, Minety were unable to convert pressure into points, going down 22-19.

For the home team Garland kicked four penalties and one conversion while Hibbard scored their only try.

MoM: Front row forward Will North who put in a battling performance up front.