3rd Confirmed for 1st XV

Gordano’s ninth league win on the bounce – aided by defeat for Nailea & Backwell at Imperial – confirmed that the Sharks will finish third in Somerset League 1 at the end of the season. It will be some months, however, before the RFU decides whether restructuring of the leagues will offer up a third promotion place.

Nevertheless Ben Gilmore and his team, not to mention coach Keith Leaker, can be more than satisfied with progress since dropping out of the Somerset Premier 12 months ago – although this game is better remembered as a ‘W’ than as a performance of any note.

Arriving late already disrupted by injury and non-availability, particularly behind the scrum, Gordano made little impression in the opening 10 minutes. It was against the run of play that they broke out and capitalised on a break by Aaron French to create a close-range try for No 8 Gerry Creber on 12 minutes, Ed Whittaker adding the conversion.

With the benefit of a strong breeze, French’s kicking repeatedly sent Wivey back down the slope and the fly-half was next to score, touching down unopposed after his pack shoved their opponents off a five-metre scrum in the 23rd minute.

On the half hour, lock Matt Rollings added a third from a tapped penalty as the home team began to fall off tackles in the face of Gordano’s direct running. Whittaker’s conversion took the lead to 19-nil and he was soon left with an even easier conversion as Wiveliscombe conceded a penalty try from a five-metre scrum.

Unfortunately, Gordano were just as prone to conceding penalties and lost Creber to the sin-bin for repeated team infringements just before the break. Down to 14 men and confronted with the same slope and strong wind, their lack of control in and around the breakdown began to undermine their efforts in scrum and line-out.

With flanker Ben Harvey having been forced to start the game at centre, the home back row came to the fore and forced a try in the corner soon after the restart. The visitors did mount one or two attacks up the slope but just as quickly found themselves back on their own line and a loose kick presented the Wivey left wing with another unconverted try on 70 minutes.

After French left the field with a knee injury, leaving Harvey to fill in at fly-half, Gordano held out until injury time when the home team scored in the right corner despite a brave tackle by Nick Stratton.