Chard rugby report for Saturday 13th January
 From Glyn Hughes

Somerset Premier League

CHEW VALLEY 22PTS    CHARD 7 PTS

What an advert for Somerset rugby this game was!!
Top of the table Chew Valley entertained  3rd place Chard and both teams provided the spectators with a game to remember.
Both sides had won their previous ten games so something had to give!!
On the balance of play no one present would deny that Chew did not deserve to win the game but credit to Chard  for never giving up and making the league leaders play to their best to get the victory.
The home forwards were boosted by the presence of their coach the Bristol and England hooker Mark Regan who clearly had them welldrilled.
Chard played down the slight slope in the first half but the strong wind blowing up the slope was a far more significant factor. Chard started well enough and made good ground but some strong defensive work by the home side kept Chard out.
The usually dominant Chard forwards were being put under a lot of pressure in the set pieces and the home side had a lot of ball to work with. Something had to give and it came as no surprise when Chew went over for their first try in the left hand corner. The conversion was successful and Chew were good value for their 7pt lead. The signs were not good for Chard and their defensive skills were being put to the test. For a 10 minute spell Chard defended superbly.  Many sides would have folded from such a  such a battering but Chard are made of sterner stuff and Paul Wright, Alan Henley, John Porter and skipper Jim Wagstaff led the way with outstanding performances. Unfortunately the problems remained in the set pieces and Chard were powerless to stop Chew from driving them back over the line from a 5 metre for their second try.
Ben King, Ben Stead and James Twigg made some fine breaks and gradually Chard got back into the game.
Chard had done magnificently to keep the deficit to 12pts at half time and would certainly be looking to use the wind in the second half.
The early second half pressure came from the Chew threequarters and they increased their lead when they squeezed over for an unconverted try following some good interpassing. Within minutes Chard suffered an unfortunate blow  when the referee missed a knockon at the back of a scrum and awarded Chew another score.
At this point Chard were 22pts down with still 25minutes to go.
However  the tables began to turn.
 Chard made a lot of ground and were camped close to the  Chew line for ten minutes. Time and again they drove Chew backwards and got so close to the score they deserved only to be thwarted by a combination of  superb defence and some subtle experience from the home side. With 15minutes to go Chard brought on Matt Ousley, Tom Richardson and 17yr old Finn O’brien for his first xv debut.  
Ousley who could be such a good player if he got fit  made an impact with his first touch when he took a lovely pass from Jordon Issacs and  burst through to give Chard a richly deserved score. Issacs  added the conversion. This was certainly Chards best period of the match and they went close again to reducing the deficit in the dying moments of the game.
A tremendously hard fought battle with excellent skills shown by both sides.
CHARD:- DERMAN, HENDY, BOND(RICHARDSON) WRIGHT, HENLEY, WAGSTAFF, PARSONS, PORTER, JONES, ISSACS, TWIGG, HELLIAR(O’BRIEN) KING(OUSLEY) HERBERT, STEAD

 Next weekend Chard 1stxv  play Bristol side Imperial on Sunday away ko 2pm in the next round of the Somerset Cup.