Old Patesians kept up their chase for place in the promotion play-offs as they fought back from being 17-12 down at the break to clinch the game 25-17 and fend of a late onslaught to deny the Seasiders a losing bonus point.

The defeat leaves Weston just one place above the relegation zone, ten points clear of Cheltenham but with a game in hand, while Old Pats remain third in the table behind leaders Bournemouth and Hartpury College.

The home side made a good start to the game with win Anthony Gregory, in only his second for the Seasiders wince rejoining from Winscombe, scored in the right corner with fly-half James Mackay adding the extras.

But five minutes later the visitors were on level terms a centre Stu Taylor exposed a gap in the Weston defence to score under the posts with skipper Adam Seager adding the simple conversion.

Old Pats went in to the lead when wing Henry Bird intercepted a long Weston pass close to his own line before setting off on an 80 metre dash to the line to score in the right corner.

Mackay regained the lead for weston before the break with a 40 metre penalty and setting up a try for blindside flanker George Wright which the fly-half, with the strong wind at his back, duly converted.

Old Pats hit back immediately after the restart as the ball popped out the back of a Weston scrum close to their own line and blindside flanker Jake Kitson on the loose ball for the visitors second try.

Seager added the conversion but just before the hour mark they were reduced to 14 men when Taylor was yellow carded. But Old Pats kept a grip on the game with two further Seager penalties.

Weston mounted numerous attacks close to the line in the closing minutes before openside flanker Giles Potter was yellow carded for an illegal tackle on full back Joe Waterman.

The Seasiders attempted to keep the ball alive as the game went into time added on but, despite being a man down, Old Patesians kept Weston at bay to record their eleventh win in 12 league encounters between the two clubs.

Weston's assistant coach Jon Bamsey said that they were all bitterly disappointed in the dressing room at the end of the game after the Seasiders had been the stronger side for large periods.

Bamsey added: "Credit to Old Pats, they are a good organised outfit - you don't get much from them - and their midfield three closed down areas of the pitch very well.

"We gifted them two soft tries with some sloppy defending for the first and the second try from the length of the field which was probably a 14 pointer given that we had men over and the long pass cost us dear.

"Being 17-12 ahead at half time wasn't enough for us and Old Pats played quiet shrewdly in the second half, kicked the corners, used the wind to their advantage and squeezed the game.

"But the guys stuck at it really well right to the death. I know that we were eight points out of it and I don;t think there was a real chance of over-turning the deficit but we were going for a losing bonus point at the end."

Weston have another tough game on Saturday in the re-arranged home match against Coney Hill who are struggling for survival in this league after their 51-9 bashing away to league leaders Bournemouth.

Weston-super-Mare: Joe Waterman; Anthony Gregory, Jon Gallagher, Dewey Swartbooi, Paul Sprague; James Mackay, Jack Conway; Dave Swann, Craig Withers, Steve Doneghan (Simon Williams, ht), Ash Russell, George Sparks (capt), George Wright (Sean Bennett, 68), Richie Bignell, Gavin Simpson.
Rep (not used): Ross Bennett.
Scorers - tries: George Wright, Anthony Gregory; cons: James Mackay 2; pen: James Mackay

Old Patesians: Matt Dean; James Butler, Stu Taylor, Steve Bryant, Henry Bird; Adam Seager (capt), Darren Moore (Rich Stevens, 68); James King, Matt Jones, Connor Thompson, Charlie Sammutt (Matt Hurdle, 50), Rob Fidler, Jake Kitson, Giles Potter, Nathan Riley.
Rep (not used): Mark Peacey.
Scorers - tries: Stu Taylor, Henry Bird, Jake Kitson; cons: Adam Seager 2, pens: Adam Seager 2
Yellow cards: Stu Taylor (57, hands in ruck); Giles Potter (75, illegal tackle)

Referee: Chris Bartlett (Dorset & Wilts)

Other results from February, 5, 2011
Barnstaple 16 Exmouth 12
Bournemouth 51 Coney Hill 9
Bridgwater & Albion 12 v Cleve 8
Cheltenham 7 Chinnor 18
Oxford Harlequins 17 Newton Abbot 3
Redingensians 15 v Hartpury College 30

Match details

Match date

Sat 05 Feb 2011

Kickoff

14:30

Meet time

13:00

Instructions

After two weeks without a game, Weston-super-Mare hope to retrurn to action on Saturday with the visit of third placed Old Patesians to the Drove Road Recreation Ground.

Weston have named the same starting line-up that should have faced Cheltenham last weekend while there is one change on the bench with Ross Bennett replacing James Reid (unavailable).

The Seasiders have to go back to November 20 for their last league victory when they beat Cleve 19-3 while Old Patesians have only lost two games on the road this season.

Weston's chairm,an of rugby Mark Philp said: "Weston are keen to restart the second half of the season with a good performance and we'll be looking for a consistent performance for the full 80 mins after some good periods of play against Hartpury and Bridgwater.

"Old Pats are at the top of the table and are consistently one of the best performers in this league, their victory at Hartpury confirms they are a very good side and will be tough to beat.

"We will be aiming to play as well as we did in the second half at their ground where we made a strong come back. If we don’t concede early soft tries and keep ourselves in it towards the later periods of the game, then a good performance will give us every chance of achieving a victory.

"Old Pats had a good away win at Newton Abbot last week which may help their match sharpness but the rest has given a couple of our players an opportunity to see off some niggly injuries.

"No doubt it will be close and the team with the most desire will win, I am hoping that we can play to our potential and ask questions of them to give ourselves every opportunity to win."

Old Patesians have named an unchanged pack for their visit while Matt Dean switches to full back, Stu Taylor moves to outside centre, in place of Barney Pascall, James Butler goes to the left wing with Henry Bird returning to the side on the right wing.

Old Patesians: Matt Dean; Henry Bird, Stu Taylor, Steve Bryant, James Butler, Adam Seager (capt), Darren Moore; James King, Matt Jones, Connor Thompson, Rob Fidler, Charlie Sammutt, Jake Kitson, Giles Potter, Nathan Riley. Reps: Mark Peacey, Matt Hurdle, Rich Stevens.

Competition

National League 3 South West

Team overview