South West 1
North Petherton 46, Chard 24

AFTER their terrific win against high-flying Newent the previous weekend, bottom side Chard posed a threat to North Petherton, but it was one Pethy dealt with in a bonus-point win.

Right from the off, the aggressive and well-drilled Petherton forwards showed they would be a handful, particularly in loose play and, following some excellent driving mauls, set up a converted try for Jack Kohler, who scored under the posts after only five minutes.

Chard were soon back in the game when they quickly ran the ball from a penalty, and Will Hopkinson drove over for an excellent try, converted from wide out on the left by Oesmani.

Midway through the half, the home side scored their second converted try when, again, Chard were unable to stop their drive to the line.

Chard were guilty of giving away a number of penalties and, with the ground gained from kicking to touch, Petherton crossed for their third try which was not converted.

A Chard penalty from Oesmani made the half-time score 19-10.

Directly from the second-half restart, Chard failed to secure the kick-off, and Pethy gratefully accepted the gift, crossing for their fourth and bonus point try.

Chard then had a player sent to the bin for a deliberate knock on, and from the resultant penalty Kohler crossed for his second try, which was again converted.

North Petherton were at this stage well on top and added their sixth try of the match.

This seemed to spark Chard and they had their best spell of the game in the final quarter when they scored two converted tries, these coming from Simon Jenkins and Oesmani.

***

Somerset 2S
Morganians 31, Winscombe 2nd XV 10

TOP-of-the-table Morganians returned to action this week, hosting Winscombe at Chedzoy Lane.

In the early stages it was clear that Morgs would have a battle on their hands and the visitors went ahead from a penalty.

Good defence kept the visitors at arms length but, when Morgs did get possession, they quickly handed it back as poor structure saw them lose the battle at the breakdown.

After 20 minutes, a moment of individual skill saw Will Hopkins race clear before being brought down illegally.

A quick tap-and-go saw Hopkins break clear again to score under the posts and convert to make it 7-3.

Winscombe then camped in the home team’s half until they eventually scored a converted try in the corner.

Morgs gifted Winscombe the ball from the restart and found themselves having to defend on their own 5m line.

Morgs’ tenacious defence held out and a rare turnover allowed Hopkins to race clear up the right.

But with just the full-back to beat and the lightning Rory McGeown to his right, Hopkins threw a blind pass into touch.

Winscombe made their way back to the Morgs line but James Carter launched a counter-attack and sped up the pitch.

Quick ball and good passing resulted in Josh Luke scoring in the corner, much to the delight of the crowd, to make it 12-10.

Phase after phase of big runners and quick ball soon saw James Carter drive over, with Hopkins converting.

Morgs were now finally delivering some exceptional attacking rugby. Quick play and good execution put Jordan Cooper clear on the right wing, and the big number 8 crashed through two cover tackles to seal the win and secure the bonus point as Hopkins converted.

With Winscombe's resistance finally broken, Morgs pushed forward before sizeable veteran Jason Roberts broke and trundled over the line with several defenders clung to him for a final score of 31-10.

Morganians finish their 2016 programme away at Somerton on December 17.