Saturday 18 September 2010
Dorset & Wilts Division 1 North
Melksham deliver a wake-up call
Minety 1st XV 8 pts – Melksham 1st XV 41 pts
Minety’s early season successes were put into sharp perspective on Saturday when they encountered a well drilled and highly dynamic Melksham side who comprehensively outplayed them.
Things started well for the home side as they took an early lead thanks to a penalty goal from skipper Jack Ward after a quarter of an hour.
After that, though Minety enjoyed substantial periods of possession, they failed to find their way through the visitors’ well organised defence. Melksham soaked up the pressure and then, when they got the ball, struck back with a precision which their hosts could not match. Steadily, the scores added up: a converted try, a penalty goal and then a second try, making it 3-15 in Melksham’s favour by the interval.
Minety made a positive start to the second half, retaining the ball through several phases before distributing it out wide, where prop Martin Coe burst through for a try by the left-hand corner flag.
But after that it was all Melksham again. Their flyhalf and both centres were outstanding, working together as an impressive unit, while their young and highly mobile pack provided possession aplenty. Between them, they added four more tries and kicked three conversions without conceding further points.
Among the few outright positives for Minety was the league debut of Simon Newman, who came off the bench to give a good account of himself and would have scored a try but for a high tackle that brought him down short of the line.
After the game, Ward ruefully acknowledged that Minety had been beaten by a better side. “None of our players had a bad game, but our opponents were better all round. They played us off the park. We’ve got a lot of work to do and the shock of this defeat should really make us concentrate on getting things right next time.”
Minety will be looking to getting back to winning ways as they travel to take on Pewsey Vale this Saturday.