Davis scores on league debut but Weston slip to defeat

Report by John Harding

Weston-super-Mare's quest for their first Regional 1 South West victory of the season remains unfulfilled as they were defeated by Lydney at the Recreation Ground, with Severnsiders outscoring them seven tries to three.

Following an improved performance, particularly in the second half, in their previous try-scoring defeat against Brixham, Weston had hoped to build on their momentum and kick-start their campaign.

“The whole squad are massively disappointed with this defeat, but there are positives we can take from the game,” said Weston-super-Mare’s head coach Dave Burge.

“There are things we have been working on and are improving, but we are getting punished when we make mistakes. The controversial yellow card saw Lydney score two tries, which meant we were left chasing the game.

“Once we started doing that, we made more errors, which cost us more. Lydney deserved the points, and we got close to the line a couple of times. But we lacked the confidence to go that extra yard to see the scoreline closer."

The home side dominated the early play and resulted in New Zealander Jay Davis, in his first league start for the Seasiders, scoring the opening try with fly-half Archie Tilsley adding the conversion.

Lydney hit back immediately as scrum-half Tom Broady outpaced the defence to touchdown. Half-back partner Brad Barnes added the extras and the conversion of the next try from blindside flanker Zak Williams following a break from Ben Large and Henry Sleeman.

Some poor tackling by the visitors allowed outside centre Huw Morgan to pull back five points for Weston, only for hooker Gary Carpenter to be yellow carded after a clash of heads with Lydney lock Mike Massey.

The Severnsiders took advantage of the extra player to score two quick tries through hooker Dan Cooper and full-back Alex Nelmes. Barnes converted, but Tilsley landed a penalty to leave Weston trailing 28-15 at the break.

The halftime team talk seemed to invigorate Weston, and Lydney's No.8 Kyle Frowen was sent to the sin-bin. Tilsley added another penalty, but Barnes responded with two three-pointers, the second from just inside the Weston half.

Lydney maintained the pressure and, from a five-metre lineout, openside flanker Harry Brown powered over the line with Barnes adding the extras. Weston were quickly back up to the other end, with the forwards powering Carpenter over the line.

Tilsley's conversion gave Weston hope of a comeback, but time was against them as they again came under pressure with Lydney kicking a penalty to the corner. The poor lineout saw Weston given a chance to clear their line but failed to find touch.

Nelmes collected and split the Weston backline to score his second try. When Weston tried to run the ball out of their half, Lydney prop Rowan Mullis intercepted a pass to run the 22 metres to the touchdown. Barnes conversion completed the scoring.

The defeat leaves Weston at the foot of the table ahead of Saturday’s game away to Chew Valley who were knocked off the league’s top spot following their 39-36 defeat away to Brixham.

Weston-super-Mare scorers – tries: Jay Davis, Huw Morgan, Gary Carpenter; cons: Archie Tilsley (2); pens: Archie Tilsley (2).
Lydney scorers – tries: Tom Broady, Zak Williams, Dan Cooper, Alex Nelmes (2), Harry Brown, Rowan Mullis; cons: Brad Barnes (6), pens: Brad Barnes (2).

Weston United are also without a win in the Counties 2 Somerset league as they went down 43-15 away to Wells. The visitors’ points, all in the first half, came through tries Ollie Caton and Vinnie Jones with Chris Young adding a conversion and a penalty.