Bradford on Avon 3 Midsomer Norton 41
For the second week on the trot, Norton started the first half playing up the slope and into the wind. Knowing it would be difficult to make ground with the boot, the team tried to play with the ball in hand and at pace, but for the first quarter, moves were rushed and mistakes made. The first score of the day came when scrum half, Moon, picked up the ball from a ruck and fed Denning, running a hard line into the ruck to crash over the try line. Moon added the conversion.
Bradford tried to use the elements to gain ground, but on several occasions overcooked the kicks which gave the advantage back to Norton. The home side did manage to get on the scoreboard, but only with a penalty kick, Norton’s defence stopped any try scoring opportunities.
Norton’s next score came in similar circumstances to the first, but with flanker,
Button, crashing over following a long period of pressure. The visitors continued to put pressure on Bradford, with Mitchard, Murphy, Holmwood and Gimson carrying the ball well. Norton’s third try came when the referee awarded the score to Sawkins, after Mitchard had the ball stripped from his grasp while in the act of scoring, with Sawkins diving on the loose ball.
Norton led at half-time 17–3, knowing they would have the strong wind behind them for the next forty minutes. The back row continued to lead the charge with
Button and Denning, the latter playing the first whole game since injury, quickly adding a second try a piece, taking the game to 31–3.
Following Norton’s fifth try, Bradford struggled with the restart, the ball hung up in the air allowing second row, Gimson, to catch the ball. He broke though the flagging defence with a zig-zagging run across the line near the posts to take the score to 36–3.
Turning a ball over in their own 22m, replacement prop, Will Edgell, fed it to centre, Mitchard, who broke through the initial defence and passed it to Rowles,
Norton’s fullback, who outstripped the defence on the outside to score in the corner. The final tally of seven tries and three conversions earned Norton a bonus point win, taking then to within one point of the league leaders, Royal Wootton Bassett, with five matches left. This Saturday, Norton travel to Sherborne, where they know a good win is the only option to keep them in the title race.