South West 1 West 
Bridgwater & Albion 25, Thornbury 17

THIS game was hard-fought throughout between two evenly-matched sides, with the lead changing hands on several occasions, but at the end it was Bridgwater & Albion who ran out the winners thanks to a try late on, writes Richard Walsh.

The hosts started strongly and made up for a missed a penalty early on when they took the lead after three minutes, as James Collings scored an unconverted try following good work by Tom Fournier.

Thornbury fought straight back, and two minutes later a try by Rich Bennett that was converted by Harry Glew saw them take the lead.

The game continued at a fast a furious pace and on 20 minutes Thornbury’s pressure was rewarded as they extended their lead courtesy of an unconverted try by James Donohue.

Albion came straight back though, and a good kick by Stuart Heal eventually found Oscar Tregenna on the left, and he crashed over for a try that saw the home side trail 12-10.

But the visitors responded with another unconverted try, this time from George Maggs, which extended their lead.

In the dying minutes of the half Heal saw an opportunity to score a drop goal, which meant the half closed 17-13 to Thornbury.

The south Gloucestershire team came out strongly after the break, but despite mounting pressure the home defence held firm.

After 20 minutes of evenly matched play, during which both sides could well have scored, it was Albion who broke the deadlock thanks to a try to the right of the posts from replacement Ryan Barnett in the 62nd minute, which gave his side a slender lead.

With six minutes remaining Barnett grabbed his second try, which was converted by Heal, and the hosts' defence held firm to ensure they ran out 25-17 winners, making up for their defeat when the two sides met earlier in the season.

Bridgwater & Albion: Adrian Tew, Harry Collins, Lewis Phillips, Ethan Trebble-Westlake, Dan Kemmish, Nick Spellissy, George Sluman, Micky Norman, Tom Fournier D’Able, Stuart Heal, Oscar Tregenna, Luke Plummer, Ollie Dunn (capt), Roger Drabble, James Collings. Replacements all used: Ryan Barnett, Matt Ransom, Shaun Mahoney.