South West 1 West
Bridgwater & Albion 5, Launceston 14

VISITING Launceston triumphed over Bridgwater & Albion at the College Way Ground on Saturday, recording a 14-5 win that keeps Albion eighth in the South West 1 West standings, writes Richard Walsh.

In a game played in difficult conditions with low temperatures and a strong wind, Albion won the toss and began the first half playing into that breeze.

The home side began in fine fashion and with only four minutes on the clock, Ollie Dunn picked the ball up just inside the Launceston half and broke clear.

He then offloaded the ball just inside the 22 to full-back Rob Gurnett, who raced into the corner and went over for a try, with Stu Heal unable to add the conversion.

The first half ebbed and flowed, with both sides competitive, and on the 30-minute mark Launceston made a good break through the middle of the park which resulted in a converted try.

The score remained 7-5 to the visitors at half time, with plenty of competitive rugby on show in the testing conditions.

The second half began in similar vein, until third-placed Launceston made the decisive score in the match.

In the 61st minute, a penalty for not releasing resulted in a second try for the visitors, which was duly converted, making the score 14-5.

Albion refused to lie down and threw everything at the Launceston defence, but the away side held firm to take the victory.

Albion remain eighth in the table despite the defeat, and they are four points ahead of neighbours North Petherton, who have a game in hand.

Afterwards, Albion’s director of rugby Geoff Sluman said: “If we had played like that against Matson the previous week we would have won.

“But you can't turn back the clock.

“You have to give credit to Launceston; they are third in the table for a reason and are a very well organised team.

“Apart from Drybrook and Exeter University they are easily the best of the rest.

“Launceston are used to playing at a higher level and they have retained some of their more experienced players.

“They are also a big side and very well coached.

“From our point of view, we take a lot of satisfaction from the performance if not the result, which will hopefully stand us in good stead for the weeks to come.”

Bridgwater & Albion: Lewis Phillips, Matt Ranson, Craig Blyde, Ethan Trebele-Westlake, Bryan Webb, George Sluman, Ollie Dunn, Brad Talbot, Tom Fournier d’Able, Stu Heal, Oscar Tergenna, Jay Owens, Garryn Basson, Jay Owens, Rob Gurnett. Replacements: Jon Roberts, Shaun Mahoney, Dan Lang.

Albion face another tough match this coming Saturday, when they play at home to fourth-placed Newent in South West 1 West.