Minety Under 16s defeated their Warminster counterparts 10 - 0 in a County Cup clash at Minety on Sunday.
The record books may highlight the fact that the referee abandoned the match after yellow carding one Warminster player and then yellow and red carding another amidst a torrent of abuse from the visitors, but the fact is that the Minety team, who have found County Cup matches difficult this season, thoroughly deserved their win and undoubtedly would have gone on to score many more points had the game been allowed to follow its natural course.
On a sodden pitch, Minety lost the toss and found themselves playing uphill into a fierce wind in the first half. With the ball quickly becoming almost impossible to handle, the Minety forwards stood their ground as Warminster tried to dominate the early scirmishes and capitalise on the advantage that the toss had brought them.
After early exchanges the Minety forwards began to dominate and pushed play up field towards the half way line. The Warminster backs employed chip kicks over the defensive line but some magnificent tackling, especially by full back Kieran Evett, thwarted them. The Minety backs, ably organised by the combination of scrum half Ben Thomas and fly half Elis Garland, kept the game tight.
With half time approaching and Minety looking increasingly on top, frustration got the better of a number of the Warminster players. Indiscipline handed Minety a number of penalties and they used these to relieve pressure on the home line.
Minety's tackling and support play was excellent and we saw the first glimpses in match play of some of the moves rehearsed in training. As the half came to an end, the Minety pack were stamping their authority on the play while the backs began to move play around a pitch that was quickly taking on Somme like qualities.
With less than 5 minutes of the second half gone Minety took the lead with a well taken try by No. 8 Josh Bull. Some thunderous play in the pack, with Josh Gainey and Greg Palmer catching the eye, pinned Warminster back on their line. When the Warminster second row was sent to the sidelines for 10 minutes the fight seemed to ebb away from the visitors and Minety exerted tremendous pressure before prop Reece Kinnett crashed through for a brilliant try.
The referee and linesman were close on hand and confirmed that the Minety forward had touched the ball down correctly but the decision to award the try proved too much for one Warminster player. Sent to the touchlines for abusive language to the referee, the player continued his tirade of abuse and the yellow card was swiftly replaced by a straight red. It was at this stage that the referee felt he could no longer continue with the match.
Credit must go to the entire Minety team for their play and their self discipline. The forward line was well organised and played to the conditions well whilst the backs threatened on numerous occasions to break out and cause havoc with the Warminster defence. That Minety would have added to their score had the game continued is beyond doubt. Certainly they will take a great deal of confidence into their clash next week with Salisbury.
Minety Squad
1 Reece Kinnett
2 Callum Harford
3 Greg Palmer
4 Josh Gainey
5 Tom Windle
6 Joe Kidner
7 Rob Hinwood
8 Josh Bull
9 Ben Thomas (C)
10 Elis Garland
11 Jordan Willcock
12 Alex Miriam
13 Dellam Murray
14 Dave Cooke
15 Kieran Evett
Replacements
Oliver Thomas, Andy Wait and Jim New.
