National Two South

Chinnor 23

THIS defeat might linger long in the mind of coach Duncan Bell.

His side did lots of good things in the match, particularly up front, but Chinnor's superior backs were ultimately the difference.

Lydney rang the changes with Curtis Russell switching to full-back and Tony Wicks taking the number 10 shirt. Kami Nakove and new signing Stuart Bartlett came in on the wings with Will Jones and James Tyas starting in the back-row.

Jones gave Lydney an extra dimension at openside flanker, while loan signing Tyas – a Scotland under-19s player who is well regarded at his club Bath – was man of the match with a superb all-round display at number eight. Lock Charlie Daniel and scrum-half Jason Graham also had big games.

In the first 20 minutes it looked like Lydney might run away with the game. Chinnor could not get out of their own half as Lydney attacked straight from the kick-off, taking play to the visitors' line.

Eventually the pressure resulted in a pushover try for prop Dan Allison in the corner.

Wicks slotted a penalty, then some good handling opened up a gap in midfield for Charlie Daniel to crash through. Wicks slotted the conversion to make it 15-0.

Lydney blotted their copybook by allowing Chinnor to score from their first foray into their half. Missed tackles enabled winger Thomas Gray to squeeze in at the corner.

The loss of Chris Holder to injury also exposed a lack of depth. With no recognised backs on the bench Tim Longton had to play in the centre. He showed his class and versatility by doing a great job defensively, but the hosts missed Holder's attacking threat.

Lydney applied more concerted pressure on the Chinnor line, but the match turned on a kamikaze pass from coach Bell. With Lydney going through the phases in the shadow of the Chinnor posts Bell threw a terrible blind pass between his legs that was intercepted. Chinnor gleefully accepted the gift and Thomas Gray grabbed an unexpected length-of-the-field score.

The visitors upped their game in the second half and got their backs more involved. They butchered a three-on-one overlap a minute after the restart by tossing the ball carelessly into touch, and were denied on another occasion by a terrific Jason Graham tackle.

Cathcart reduced the deficit to 15-13 with a penalty, but Duncan Bell made amends for his first half gaffe by powering over from a rolling maul for Lydney's third try. Wicks's conversion made it 22-13.

The Severnsiders were their own worst enemies in the final quarter. Leo Fielding exposed a lack of pace at the back with a try that Cathcart converted. The sin-binning of James McMahon left Lydney with a mountain to climb and they struggled to get out of their own 22 in the closing minutes.

A bonus point was hardly a consolation. This was one that definitely got away.

Lydney: Curtis Russell, Kami Nakove, Josh Innes, Chris Holder (Tim Longton 34), Shaun Bartlett, Tony Wicks, Jason Graham, Dan Allison (Sam Winchcombe 52), Ben Lewis (Jacob Fields 63), Duncan Bell, Charlie Daniel, Dave Bennett (Jim McMahon 41), Matt Taylor (capt, Pete Butcher 66), Will Jones, James Tyas.