DJ Turns-Tables on Hornets

Weston hosted Hornets on Rememberance Sunday and proved to be too strong for their local rivals in a keenly contested afternoon derby. As always with these two sides, the battle for the initial score was going to be all important and the first 20 minutes were evenly contested, with neither side able to breakthrough. Weston then began to get the upperhand in the loose and slowly began to take control. Excellent rucking at the breakdown kept Hornets on the backfoot, and Weston on the charge. DJ Wills, Sol Ward and Aivaras Gaciauskas began making ground with their outstanding direct running and Weston were now on top. Constant, pick and go calls from Weston went against the gameplan, but continued to pile the pressure on Hornets and Weston were unlucky not to open their account when Sol Ward was considered to be held up over the line. Weston didn't have to wait long though to rectify this when from the resulting scrummage centre Harry Lewis smashed through the Hornets midfield to score. James Aucott cooly added the conversion and Weston led 7-nil. From the restart Hornets responded well and could have created an opening but for a wayward forward pass. However they were to have the last word of the half with a well taken penalty to send the sides in at halftime with Weston leading 7-3. Weston knew that the next score was going to be important and went off in hunt of it immediately. Great pressure from the defensive line caused errors and Weston, who were absolutely dominant at the scrummage, were able to set up camp in the Hornets half. More controlled now, Weston were able to release the ball to the backline who showed good hands on a couple of occassions which could have created opportunities. However, it was in the boiler house that Weston were in charge and it wasnt long before Weston scored through flanker Aivaras Gaciauskas who crashed over, following good work from Mike Ward and Rhys Langley at the breakdown. James Aucott was on target with the conversion and Weston now had some breathing space leading 14-3. Weston were now able to make changes, without effecting the flow of the game and keeping their continuity going forward. Ashley Hardman, Kienen Holbrook and Dan Smith all made outastanding contributions, whilst Alex Tyler made a superb last man tackle as Hornets threatened to reduce the score. From this Weston then took the game away when more pressure from the forwards, created space out wide and Weston went through the hands. A loose pass, was excellently picked up by centre Tom Sugg and he slid in for Weston's third try. Once again James Aucott slotted the extras and Weston now led 21-3. From here in, Weston could have added further tries, with Liam Hynes and Jacob Cox both being brought down just short of the line. Aaron Norton was unlucky not to get away following a great looped pass from Stefan Thompson-Rose and Charley Stott put down a pass that could have seen him score. With only a few minutes remaining Hornets rallied and following the unsuprising teddies out the cot moment made a rare visit into Weston's 22. Weston looked to to have dealt well with the pressure, but a hurried clearance kick was deflected off a Weston player and Hornets reacted well to pick up the loose ball and cross for a consolation try. The conversion was added and Weston now led 21-10. Weston then restarted and went in search of the final try, but it wasnt to be. As the ball was cleared into touch, the final whistle was blown and Weston had comfortably won the match despite the flattering scoreline. This was a good step forward for the Weston side, who demonstrated and great disciplined team ethos and desire not only too score, but to stop the oppostion from scoring. It was clear that some of the lads were a little dissapointed that they hadn't shut Hornets out - a good sign! Our contact at the breakdown was a marked improvement and ultimately won us the game. Great work from all of the forwards. Defensively we looked much better, with Stefan Thompson-Rose and Alex Tyler making excellent tackles and great control and leadership shown by Owen Kelman, Harry Lewis and Liam Hynes. However the oustanding contributions were made by Aivaras Gaciauskas and DJ Wills, whos strong direct running was outstanding. DJ Wills just pips the man of the match, with a brilliant debut.

Finally, all of the Weston squad and coaching staff would like to offer their best wishes to Hornets coach Baz Collins who was taken ill on Saturday afternoon. We all wish for a speedy recovery.