Melksham (U16s) 17 Trowbridge (U16s) 26
A local derby cup match saw an improved team performance from Melksham U16s, however they were just edged out by a tough Trowbridge side.
Before the game, Melksham was presented with their new reversible shirts from team sponsor A B Gerrish Ltd, and this helped to prevent a potential clash of shirts as Melksham played in the new red and blue kit.
The game started very evenly with both sides sizing each other up. However, in the 14th minute, a good combination of passes saw the Trowbridge winger cross the line to get the breakthrough and a good kick saw the conversion go over and give Trowbridge a 0-7 lead.
From the restart, a good take of the ball by Ben Brown saw Melksham put pressure onto Trowbridge, this led to a penalty to Melksham, with the ball kicked into touch. Melksham had a lineout, and this resulted in Will Harris picking the ball up and crossing the line for a try in the 17th minute.
The game settled down and both teams had good exchanges with the ball. The game remained tight and ended with a narrow lead of 5 – 7 at half time.
The second half kicked off and Trowbridge applied pressure straight away. In the 37th minute a good box kick from the Trowbridge No. 9 was picked up by the Trowbridge winger and he crossed for a second try for Trowbridge. Conversion missed 5 – 12.
From the restart, Trowbridge again applied pressure and missed tackles from Melksham let Trowbridge in to score under the posts for their 3rd try in the 39th minute. Conversion scored 5 – 19.
Melksham then settled down and applied good pressure in the Trowbridge 22, eventually the pressure paid off and after a good passing game, Ben Brown crossed the try line in the corner to score Melksham’s 2nd try of the game in the 47th minute. Conversion missed 10 – 19.
Again, from the restart Melksham applied the pressure, and Trowbridge managed to turn the ball over by their try line. However, the constant pressure from Melksham led to a stray pass from Trowbridge and Ben Brown slid under the posts onto the ball to score his 2nd try of the game and Melksham’s 3rd in the 52nd minute, with the conversion scored by Ethan Norvill the gap was closed to 2 points in it, at 17 – 19.
The game then settled down and both teams enjoyed good spells of pressure with the ball.
In the final minute Trowbridge capitalised on a missed knock on and their scrum half scored under the posts and converted the kick to finish the game with a 17 – 26 win for Trowbridge.
