Hard hit by injuries, Minety had to play several players out of position for this game. They also recalled scrumhalf Andy Brown to first team duties and drafted in experienced lock Damon Smith for his first game of the season. Both played exceptionally well. Brown's swift passing from the base of the scrum got his threequarters moving while his reading of play and traffic control around rucks and mauls proved invaluable to his pack. Smith's strength and determination seemed undiminished and his straight running, which helped set up Coe's try, provided an object lesson in forward mobility and how to tie in opposing players.

The match was played under a clear blue sky but the rain of previous weeks had left the playing surface heavy and treacherously sliperry. Both sides had problems keeping their feet and Minety, who came with only two substitutes, soon had to use both of them after losing two players to injuries.

Neither side achieved dominance in the early exchanges. The turning point came when Bassett won possession at a defensive lineout only to be promptly turned over at a ruck. Brown fished the ball out and flung it to flyhalf Tim Vaughan, who neatly jinked round two players before crossing the line and touching down behind the posts.

Ryan Dowling slotted the conversion but it wasn’t long before Bassett responded. Putting the visitors under pressure, they penned them back until fullback Grant Murdoch made the breakthrough. He took the ball on the 22 and skittered up the blindside, breaking three tackles on his way to touching down for the try that made it 5-7 at the break.

The second half was a tense affair. Minety went ahead thanks to an excellent passing move by the threequarters that set Dowling away for a try, but Bassett struck straight back with a try of their own. 

It was great to see Minety number 8 David Hazell varying play by picking up and running ball from the back of the scrum. Too often, though, he was left isolated and the effectiveness of his sallies was undermined by the lack of support. Out in the backs, there were many things to enjoy, including some fine catching and counterattacking by fullback Robin Greenway and some good tackling by Jack Ward at centre, but too often Minety seemed content to play latteraly, running sideways or passing the ball out to the wings without making significant ground.

With the visitors ahead by only a slender margin, play ebbed and flowed until Minety gradually established dominance in the closing stages of the game. Coe’s try in the dying seconds came after a concerted effort by the forwards had secured both field position and possession and saw him run up the narrowest of blindsides to squeeze in at the corner.