Melksham RFC 21
Corsham RFC 5
THE inaugural Plumbstop Cup took place at Oakfields on Saturday 4th September – a local derby between Melksham RFC and Corsham RFC.
Jack Tunney reports, “With Plumbstop sponsoring both sides for the coming season it was a fantastic opportunity to bring these two local heavyweights together.
“The occasion was as hard fought as you would expect any derby. Within the first 10 minutes Melksham found themselves a man down after an illegal tackle in the air. This led to some real intense pressure from the fired up Corsham side, battering the Melksham line continuously for much of the first half.
“This was however to no avail, with the Melksham squad being well versed in defence they kept the Corsham attack at bay. The first half to a statistician may have appeared very boring at 0-0, but to those spectators it was anything but. Basic bruising rugby done very well.
“The second half became a different story. The home side had an overwhelming bench of just under 20 to choose from, which enabled them to take the advantage over the hard fought Corsham lads. Melksham broke the deadlock with some nifty hands to put Leo through for their first try. Scott Simmons was then brought on to add some control to the game and open the play up. A certain Jamie Shipman the beneficiary of a lovely miss pass from Scott to notch down under the posts.
“Another note must be made about the 70 metre try by Kaf who decided not just to glide around the Corsham players, but also right through them. The away side did pull the score back with a try of their own after some intense pressure towards the death, however it was a little too late.
“The game finished 21-5 to Melksham with a jubilant squad able to lift quite sizeable trophy in their own back yard in front of all their faithful fans. A quality performance by both sides, certainly worth keeping an eye out on the season to come!”