Pethy hang on to second place despite a second league defeat in a row

North Petherton's chances of winning the Somerset Premier division this season were as good as ended on Saturday when they conceded two tries in the last two minutes against Stothert & Pitt to lose a second match in a row. Pethy had taken an early lead through No.8 Ben Tarr, and three Tom Williams penalties gave them a 16-11 lead going into the final few minutes. Unfortunately, a mixture of good attacking play by the hosts and a couple of defensive lapses let Stotherts in for a dramatic late win. Read the match report here.

Despite this setback, a third defeat in a row for promotion rivals Tor leaves Petherton still in second place in the table with three matches remaining. Leaders Burnham won again and now need just one point to secure a second league triumph in a row, having pipped North Petherton to the Somerset One title last season. At the moment, second place will put North Petherton into a promotion play-off with the runners-up from the the Cornwall/Devon Premier division, so a second promotion in a row is still in their hands. All of the weekends results can be seen below.

Tribute Somerset Premier Results - Saturday 14th March 2009

Avon 33 - 5 Chew Valley
Burnham on Sea 5 - 0 Winscombe
Chard 27 - 34 Bristol Harlequins
Midsomer Norton 20 - 14 Tor
Stothert & Pitt 21 - 16 North Petherton
Wells 78 - 3 Old Sulians

In Somerset Three South, North Petherton's Seconds pulled off a great win at Minehead Thirds after playing the entire match with just 14 players. In what was a great team performance, Pethy played some excellent rugby on the sloping Minehead pitch to make light of their one man disadvantage. Pethy's seven man pack dominated from the start, particlarly in the scrum and at the breakdown, providing plenty of good ball for their backs, who had too much pace for the home side to handle. Tries were scored by Nick Pocock, Adie Harris, Chris Powell, and Pete Kingston to give the Second team a somewhat unexpected 25-7 win. Read the match report here.

This was a third victory in four matches for Pethy Seconds, who have moved up the league table into fifth place after this result. If they can get a full squad together for their match at joint league-leaders Castle Cary this coming weekend, there is no reason why they cannot go there and win. However, if they take just 14 or 15 players, they will again be handing good opposition an advantage that they do not need.

In other results Weston Thirds returned to the top of the table on points difference after being given a walkover win by Tor Thirds, with joint leaders Castle Cary not in action. Morganians and Burnham fought out a draw in the only other match that was played. All of the weekends results can be seen below.

Tribute Somerset Three South Results - Saturday 14th March 2009

Minehead Barbarians III 7 - 25 North Petherton II
Morganians 5 - 5 Burnham on S II
Weston-s-Mare III HWO Tor III
Winscombe III HWO Wellington III

This coming Saturday the First Team currently have a weekend off. The Seconds will be travelling to Castle Cary and the Colts will be also be away at Clevedon. Both games kick-off at 2:30pm.