On a dark December day at Norton Down, Midsomer Norton hosted Cheltenham Tigers in an entertaining thriller that went to the last play of the game.

It was Cheltenham who got off the mark first early in the opening ten minutes of the game with a try from their backline and a piece of individual brilliance seeing the Tigers’ rapid winger step a number of the Norton backs to touch down under the posts. With the wind blowing strong down the slope, Cheltenham kicked well for territory, taking full advantage of the new 50-22 laws putting continuous pressure on Norton. However, strong defence from Norton and Cheltenham’s ill-discipline allowed Nor back into the game.

Nor answered back in the first half as they took advantage of numerous penalties to kick to the corner, finally setting up a catch and drive using flanker, Sam Church, at the front of the lineout – a great nudge in the maul gave Cheltenham no choice but to collapse illegally, resulting in a penalty try to Nor and a sin bin of a Cheltenham forward. Taylor adding the extras along with a penalty saw the half time score at 12–14 in favour of the visitors.

Norton began to take advantage of the elements playing down the slope with the wind behind them. James Abbott kicked well from hand throughout the match as Noah Watts looked dangerous under the cross field kicks. Cheltenham then began to show why they are sitting just behind league leaders, Matson, in second place, with an explosive finish to the match taking the scores level using some hard, resilient ball carrying up the slope, desperately scoring to take the scores level with a fantastic conversion from the touch line,24-24. It was Cheltenham’s momentum that saw them through the final minutes of the game. More hard persistence got them another try right at the death to take the victory away from Midsomer Norton who would have been gutted to lose so narrowly at the end.

Midsomer Norton now sit sixth in the table of Western Counties North, looking for a win on the road to Chipping Sodbury this Saturday in hope of seeing the year out on a high.