Minety’s valiant 31-13 defeat at Avonvale was the very last match in Dorset and Wilts Division 1 North for 2017 – 2018 season. The bonus point win on Wednesday at Swindon meant that all Minety had to do was put 15 players on the pitch at Avonvale, and thus avoid a 5 point penalty for conceding a fixture, and 4th place in the league was guaranteed. Certainly the performance put in by a very experimental lineup on Saturday was far more than “just turning up” material – they pushed Avonvale very hard but two converted tries in each half and a penalty saw the Bath based team home with something of a flattering scoreline.
MTV will be back tomorrow with the Swindon match and then later in the week with the Avonvale game.
In the meantime, take more than a pinch of satisfaction looking at the league table. 4th place was the target set by the coahes at the start of the season but even they could not have imagined the massive injury toll that put such a strain upon playing resources. Given that the teams in 2nd and 3rd place aren’t located in either Dorest or Wiltshire, it makes Minety’s performance even better.
And let’s not forget the 2nd XV, whose final position in the table was largely influenced by match concession penalties when they were forced to cancel matches in order to help the 1st XV out.
A full review of the season for both teams will appear in the coming weeks.
But here’s the Division 1 table in full.

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