Under 15s crush Misomer Norton to advance in the Somerset cup

14/01/07 - Somerset Junior Cup Preliminary Round : Midsomer Norton 5 v 50 North Petherton

Report by Andy Skinner

North Petherton traveled up to Midsomer Norton knowing that nothing less than a victory would do. Playing downhill, Pethy dominated possession and territory early on in the first half. Although Norton had a big pack of forwards, Pethy's were more than a match for their opponents, and some great support play and off loads out of contact throughout the match gave the backs plenty of space out wide.

The first try came from a penalty inside Norton's 22. The ball was tapped and popped up to Sam Butler who crashed over. Second on the scoresheet was new player Dan Edwards, who touched down in the corner after some good inter-play in the backs. Norton were unable to get out of their half because of the fairly strong wind, and they started to give away penalties, which eventually led to further tries by Petherton through No.8 Ty Harris and Hooker James "Farmer" Popham. This made the half time score 26-0 to the visitors.

In the second half Pethy played up the hill and into the wind, but they continued running the ball whilst mixing up their game with a number of well-worked driving mauls. Petherton soon scored again through second row Chris Lewis, a try converted by Tom Popham. Following that, an outstanding driving maul starting from outside of Norton's 22 finished with "Farmer" Popham touching down his second try of the match.

Credit must go to Norton who kept going and scored an unconverted try, but they had a player sin-binned which did not help their cause, and by then the game as a contest was over. Dan Edwards scored his second try after popping up on the opposite wing to score under the sticks, and then a scrum five meters out from the Norton try-line saw Pethy's backs run a set move that was finished off by Tom Popham touching down under the posts. By now the ref had seen enough and blew up for the end of the game. This was an outstanding performance by all the lads, especially Sam Mularczyk, who was outstanding in his first game as a tight head prop. Petherton will now go to Minehead Barbarians in the first round of the competition, a fixture that is due to be played by the 11th of February.

Tries: Sam Butler, Dan Edwards (2), Ty harris, James Popham (2), Chris Lewis, Tom Popham

Cons: Tom Popham (5)

Pens:

Drop Goals: