Saturday’s double postponement of fixtures at Minety mean that both teams must return to action next weekend, Saturday 24th February, for their matches against table topping Bradford on Avon and Melksham in Divisions 1 and 3 North.
Some surprising results from matches that did go ahead on the 17th February. Warminster’s close loss at Supermarine gave them a losing bonus point which takes them above Minety in the table but it did provide the Swindon based team with a 6th win of the season as they climbed up to 8th place in the league. The biggest surprise was Royal Wootton Bassett’s toppling of title chasing Combe Down at Ballards Ash by 34-19. Down’s loss and Avonvale’s win the weekend before means that newly promoted Avonvale are up to 2nd place in the league, a remarkable feat for a new team. At the bottom of the table Swindon returned only their second win of the season against 7th placed Chippenham while Melksham moved up from 11th to 9th place with a tight win over fellow strugglers Trowbridge.
In Division 3 North top of the table Corsham maintained their 100% record with a crushing 71-7 victory over 7th placed Supermarine although they were outscored by 3rd placed Trowbridge who thumped struggling Swind by 74-0. In the other match, 2nd placed Warminster defeated 5th placed Bath Saracens in a high scoring encounter.
Minety sit in 9th place, one off the bottom, although 21 points ahead of bottom placed Melksham, but have suffered with team penalties this season through not being able to fulfil fixtures. Matt Stone’s team will hope that next week’s game against Melksham can go ahead if only to improve their league position. It is interesting that 9th placed Minety are still showing a positive “Points For / Points Against” total. Only three other clubs share that sort of record, and they sit comfortably clear at the top of the table!