Weston complete excellent week

WESTON’S game plan against third-placed Chinnor may not have been the best to watch, but Glenn Dickson kept the ball in front of his pack which responded with an outstanding display.

In addition, Weston’s fly-half kick four goals from six attempts to give his team a narrow, but valuable victory.

In the continued absence of Ashley Russell, George Sparks was handed the captaincy and the No 8 made it count with a memorable all-round performance.

George Wright, who had come into the side for injured flanker Dan Fry, was everywhere that he should have been throughout the match and it was the 20-year-old who was largely responsible for the Seasiders’ first points.

After James Cathcart had given Chinnor the lead with a straight penalty, Wright beat several defenders in a 30 metre run and when the visitors offended at the ruck, Dickson equalised with the first of his penalties.

Eight minutes later, Dickson was on target again following Andrew Glen’s powerful charge but the 6-3 lead didn’t last long.

Weston were having difficulty at the back with the low sun and James Arnold was unable to field Cathcart’s high punt and from the resultant scrum, Toby Prescott was allowed to run unopposed to the posts.

Cathcart converted but Weston came to within a point at the interval when Glen again made inroads and Dickson obliged with another penalty.

Dickson’s fourth goal arrived nine minutes into the second half and the excitement grew as both teams threw everything at each other to get the crucial score.

Weston continued to kick for territory and Arnold was unlucky when he was foiled at the right corner and Dickson was narrowly wide with a penalty attempt.

Chinnor’s continued efforts to run the ball were met with a rock solid defence, including important tackles by Andrew Richards, James Mackay and James Reid.

But it was the Seasiders’ discipline which came to the surface during those final 20 minutes when not a single penalty was conceded within 40 metres of their own line giving the visitors no chance of a winning penalty.

Weston: H Warman, J Arnold, J Reid, J Mackay, P Sprague, G Dickson, N Trevena, D Price (S Donegan 72), D Burge, S Williams, A Richards, A Glen, E Smith, G Wright, G Sparks (capt). Replacements not used: M Smith and D Steele.