CHARD RUGBY REPORT
FOR
SATURDAY 13TH OCTOBER 2007
by
 Glyn Hughes

SENIOR VASE

MINEHEAD  44PTS  CHARD 24PTS

Chard lost their unbeaten  record to a useful Minehead side in this second round Senior Vase National cup match.
Chard lost the toss and had to play down the considerable Minehead slope in the first half and for most sides this means that if they are to win  then it is imperative that they build up a substantial half time lead.
Chard started well enough and early pressure resulted in them going ahead with a penalty from Paul Nicholls. They nearly added to this score with a good forward drive but a Chard player was caught accidentally offside and the chance was gone.
 Even at this early stage in the game the referee was making what can only be described as some interesting decisions which confused both sets of players and spectators.
It was quickly apparent that although Chard were capable of matching or bettering their hosts in the set pieces  they were not so dominant at the breakdown and in terms of back  play the home side looked a lot sharper and quicker than Chard and appeared to be  a well drilled and useful outfit.
It was no real surprise when centre Charlie Walker- Brown broke through and scored a converted try under the posts to put his side in front after 18minutes play. After 25minutes Luke Brown broke through the Chard defence again for an unconverted try. Minehead went even further ahead when they were able to turn over Chard possession and Daniel Bishop picked up the loose ball and raced 40metres down the blind side to score his sides 3rd try of the afternoon.
Mineheads ability to win the ball at the breakdown was becoming a feature of the play as was their quick thinking from short penalties and it was no real surprise when Sam Lewis caught Chard flat footed and went over for another try.  This try meant that Chard were now trailing 24-3 and  were facing a big up hill struggle. However in the final 10 minutes of the half Chard staged a fine comeback and their forward strength resulted in Minehead being penalised for a series  of  deliberate technical offences when Chard were about to score,. The referee initially yellow carded a home player and having warned them of  the consequences of further infringement awarded Chard two penalty tries within minutes. Nicholls converted both and Chard were suddenly back in touch. These two decisions did nothing to endear the referee to the home fans but they certainly appeared to be  correct and very brave in the circumstances.
Half time Minehead 24pts Chard 17pts
Any realistic chance Chard had of going on to win the game disappeared in the early moments of the second half when Chard lost the services of Mark Parsons to injury and after much confusion  the referee also yellow carded Alan Henley for an apparent technical offence. Minehead went further ahead with a penalty and with a significant section of their powerhouse pack missing Chard were struggling to keep the ball away from the dangerous Minehead backs. With a lot of ball it came as no real surprise that they were able to exploit the frailties of the Chard back division and they ran in three more tries to go into a commanding 44-17 lead. With still 20 minutes to go Chard could well have capitulated but there is character in the Chard squad and the defended stoutly
and indeed fought back well to score a lovely try of their own. Winger Stuart Gold burst through kicked ahead and made the home fullback pay for some hesitant play by winning the ball back and scoring an excellent try which Nicholls converted.
Minehead play in a league higher than Chard  and were deserved winners but Chard will hopefully  learn from this experience and work had on the weaknesses that Minehead exposed and put them to good use in their league programme.

Next Saturday Chard 1st xv host Winscombe in a Somerset Premier league game kick off at 3pm and the 2nd xv are also at home to Wiveliscombe