Huge apologies for the late publication, but here are the match reports for our two Touch Rugby Teams in their first matches of the Play-Off phase of the Summer season!
N&B Touch 5 - 2 Bristol Jets
Nailsea Touch entered their first round of the play-offs looking to bounce back following a disappointing 8-2 defeat the week prior to finish the regular season.
Bristol Jets have proved to be a tough opponent for Nailsea in the past, most recently beating them 8-5 on the opening day of the season. Their team was rife with players representing at regional and international level, so Nailsea would have to be at their very best to take anything away from this match-up.
From the start, Nailsea took the game to Jets and forced them onto the back foot. The opening score came early into the match as Nailsea set themselves well inside the Jets 10m and executed a perfect 32-short, hitting in behind the touching defender and sliding in was Steve Johnson to put the Nailsea on the board.
The rest of the first half continued with Jets struggling to get out of their half, thanks specifically to great pistol defence from Nailsea. Typically clinical when deep inside an opposition’s final third, Jets weren’t given the opportunity to use those moves as they had 4 or 5 of their touches used before even leaving their half.
Only a late first-half try from Ryan Anthoney helped give Nailsea the lead they deserved as they entered half-time.
In contrast to the start of the match, Nailsea were the one’s on the backfoot as Jets began to execute their moves and drives are more effectively as they took advantage of fatigue entering the Nailsea ranks. A couple of well work moves forcing Nailsea’s defence out of position, which had been so good until this point, pulled Jets back level at 2-2, giving the feeling that this was going to be another missed opportunity for Nailsea.
However, Nailsea came back and answered the comeback with a beautifully worked try between Ed Simon, Ryan Anthoney and Steve Johnson to restore their lead and deflate the Jets resurgence.
As Jets tried desperately to get back into the game, Nailsea answered with fantastic, tough defence giving Jets no opportunity to get through their lines. This also opened up holes in their own defence, which Adam Weavers managed to take advantage of as he entered from the sub box before finding an open gap in defence and double the Nailsea lead to 4-2.
The game was capped off by another great individual try from Xav Underwood who cut a perfect line, narrowly avoiding a touch before scoring to finalise the score at 5-2.
“This was arguably the best combined result and performance we’ve had for a very long time”, said coach Adam Weavers following the win. “We’ve had times this season where we’ve played well and lost and won when we haven’t deserved it. Every player was superb today and it’s nice to start the play-offs with a convincing win against really tough opposition.”
Nailsea will continue their bid to win the Plate Pool next week as they face Cougars at Shaftsbury park at 7.20pm on Monday.
Ravens Relics 5 -8 Touching Cloth
The Relics lost their first Shield play-off match in the Bristol Touch League but put in an encouraging performance against an experienced Touching Cloth team. The early stages of the match saw the relics struggle with the pace of the game and concede early tries. But as the first half went on the Relics improved their defensive structure and always made inroads into the opposition half with their drives. The Nailsea team could have had three first half tries but for last minute touches and missed opportunities. The sides changed ends with Touching Cloth 5-0 ahead.
The second half saw Relics go from strength-to-strength with tries from Owen Wright, Rob Nicholson and Dave Williams. The Relics were able to put pressure on their opponents with Sam Wells, Lisa Anthoney and Adam Grafton influential in the Relics driving game as space began to appear in their opponents defence. Relics matched their opponent s try for try in the second half with the game ending 8-5 to Touching Cloth. Next week the Relics face Wu Tag Clan.
If you fancy trying Touch Rugby, the N&B Teams train on Thursday and Friday evenings. Keep an eye on rugby club social media for more information!
