CHARD RUGBY REPORT FOR SATURDAY 16TH DECEMBER 2006 BY GLYN HUGHES

Chard were able to field three sides on the final weekend before the festive season and had a successful outcome with two of the sides coming out on top. The 1st xv won a close encounter at Nailsea and the 2nd xv were successful against Salisbury in a  Dorset and Wilts league game. The 3rd xv played well but were overpowered by a strong Honiton outfit.
SOMERSET PREMIER LEAGUE.      NAILSEA AND BACKWELL  8PTS CHARD  13PTS
Chard lost the toss and had to play down the considerable Nailsea slope in the opening half. A substantial interval lead is usually a must on this ground for teams playing down the hill and Chard had an immediate advantage when Paul Nicholls slotted a penalty between the posts in the opening seconds. Some sloppy play followed however and poor passing and handling by the Chard backs allowed the home side back into the game. They levelled the scores with a penalty from Terry Hill. The Chard forwards were playing well despite being without their injured skipper Wagsaff and they slowly began to take a grip on the game .Time and again the home side were pinned back deep in their own 22metre area and it would surely be only a matter of time before Chard scored. They were given an opportunity to do so from a penalty kick but opted to kick to touch. They won the resultant lineout but Nailsea defended their line well and the ball was held up over the line. Several five metre scrums followed before the home side were penalised for being offside. Richard Jones took a quick penalty and fed the ball out to Chris Bond who went over in the corner for an unconverted try. After 35minutes play Nailsea had a player sent to the sinbin  and Chard took full advantage of the situation and powered over for another unconverted try to lead 13-8 at half time. Would this be enough?
The Chard backs were a little disjointed in terms of defensive play in the first half and several positional changes were made for the second half. Things certainly began to look more secure  and Chard despite being under a lot of pressure territorially defended really well for long periods. Twigg cleared the ball with some good kicks  and Nicholls tidied up well at the base of the set pieces. It appeared that Chard would hold on to their slender lead quite comfortably but a mix up between Parsons and Wright who otherwise had both been outstanding throughout allowed Nailsea winger Matt Thorne to score a unconverted try in the final minutes of the game. The referee then played an incredible eight minutes of extra time during which Chard had to defend desperately but they held on for another win which keeps them in touch with the league leaders. A year ago Chard might well have capitulated under so much pressure but they have learned to grind out a win and deserved their success
CHARD:- DERMAN, HENDY, BOND, WRIGHT, HENLEY, PARSONS, MACKIE, PORTER, NICHOLLS, TWIGG, KING, JONES, HERBERT, HELLIAR, STEAD.REPLACEMENT:- ISSACS(FOR HELLIAR) 40MIN

CHARD 2ND XV  34PTS  SALISBURY  18PTS ( Dorset and Wilts league 2 south )
Having lost by a similar score at Salisbury earlier in the season  this was a very satisfying win for Chard in the return fixture
Tries from Skipper Lee Brun and Stuart Gold  put  Chard ahead by 10pts to 8 at halftime but a disputed converted try put the useful visitors ahead in the early stages of the second period . Chard  were convinced that the ball had been put down outside the dead ball area and that the try should therefore have been disallowed. The referee disagreed and confirmed the score. This decision actually fired up the home side and they hit back with  tries from Gold,  Brun and Mckerrow. Skipper Brun added a penalty and three conversions to complete a good win for the home side. Chard always look a better side at home and if  the same players showed the same enthusiasm for away games then there is no doubt that Chard would be in a higher position than their current comfortable mid table slot.

HONITON 3RDS 36PTS   CHARD 3RDS  7PTS  A fitter and stronger Honiton side had a comfortable win but Chard thoroughly deserved their late try scored and converted by Wayne Lewis. Despite the scoreline this was a very enjoyable game played in the true spirit of the game.

There are no games next Saturday but on Boxing Day the annual match between a Chard XV and Holyrood Old Boys takes place at 2.30pm. The clubhouse will be open from 1pm . The club would like to encourage those home for the festive period to come along and meet old friends and all those who want to play will be guaranteed a game.