Seconds win fiesty local derby and the Firsts advance to round 2
North Petherton crushed Somerset 2 South side Somerton 138-0 on Sunday afternoon to advance to round 2 of the Somerset Vase competition. Having played a league game the day before the visitors turned up to Beggars Brook with only 14 players and lost one of them to injury during the match. It was always likely to be a hard game for Somerton, who were beaten heavily when the sides last met in a Somerset 1 fixture in March 2007, and with a depleted side it soon turned into a procession of tries for Pethy in front of a lively home crowd.
Somerton deserved credit for keeping going and for trying to make a match of it, but ultimately they were outclassed. Lloyd Williams and Matt Brown picked up a hat-trick of tries each, whilst Luke Williams, Dan Rood, and Matt Angel scored their first tries for North Petherton. Unfortunately for Pethy this was not quite the test they were looking for after losing at Bristol Harlequins the week before, and with it being such an open game they had few opportunites to try and put right some of the mistakes from that match. Read the match report here.
On Saturday afternoon, North Petherton Seconds travelled to Wiveliscombe for a vital Somerset Three South league encounter, and they came away with a great result after a 14-8 victory which moves them up to fifth place in the league and level on points with the side in second place. It was fiesty local derby to say the least as players from both sides lost their cool at times, with the referee struggling to maintain control. However, Pethy can take great heart from an important win ground out in difficult circumstances to keep themselves in with a chance of promotion this season. Read the match report here.
There was only one other match in Somerset Three at the weekend which saw Chard Thirds take a 2 point lead at the top of the table after they despatched Burnham Seconds 74-3.
This coming Saturday the First Team return to action with a home match against former Somerset One rivals Old Sulians. Although their opponents are currently bottom of the Somerset Premier, it still promises to be a tough match against a side who always look to play good rugby. Pethy's Second team face another crunch match when they travel to Wellington Thirds, whose results so far this season suggest they could be much stronger than their current league position suggests.