Devizes RFC

Devizes come unstuck against Trowbridge

Devizes travelled to Doric Park, Trowbridge for the first time in five years on Thursday before the long Easter weekend.  Neither side had faced each other for some time, so there were many unknowns but both sides played out an entertaining match for a good eighty minutes in dry, settled conditions, despite the rain which fell heavily earlier on in the day, making the pitch rather soft.  The game was played under the floodlights on Trowbridge’s second pitch instead of in front of the clubhouse.

Devizes travelled with no fly half, so Gus O’Connor (sponsored by Devizes Woodworks) had to abandon his usual centre duties to slot in at ten.  Sam Holloway returned in the front row to provide some ballast, whilst Lloyd Smith also returned in the backline at scrum half.  Off the bench, Ed Patterson made his debut after starring for the 2^nd XV and Colts in recent weeks.

Devizes travelled with a squad of 22 and started the better, dominating the early exchanges through some great forward pressure.  A driving maul close to the Trowbridge line was well snaffled by the home side and they were able to clear their lines, but this was an opportunity missed for Devizes.

The home side, then started firing, through their impressive back line, who were finding gaps in the disjointed Devizes back line and it wasn’t long before Trowbridge executed well to go into a 7-0 lead through their pacy back line.

Devizes seemed to be dominating the forward exchanges with Charlie Paget (sponsored by Jack Spratts) making a good break and putting Devizes onto the front foot.  The ball was worked wide to the supporting prop, Sam Holloway who burrowed over with a trademark score to bring the scores to 7-5.

That two-point deficit didn’t last long however, as Trowbridge added a penalty kick through fly half Tom Weaver, before the home side executed well through the backs again to make it 17-5.

In the second half, Devizes upped the intensity and managed to reduce the deficit further when a five metre scrum, was dotted down by number eight Craig Bryant (sponsored by Rick Kibby & John Thompson) after the Trowbridge pack went into reverse which made it 17-12.

At this point, Devizes had another two opportunities to score, particularly with Trowbridge showing dissent which saw not one, but two of their players in the sin bin, including former Saddleback scrum half, Harrison Wall.  Despite the numerical advantage for half of the second period, the Saddlebacks couldn’t capitalize further and Trowbridge to their credit controlled the game well to take the sting and momentum away from Devizes during this difficult period.

The home side then had a late rally with ten minutes to go and took the game away with a penalty kick from Tom Weaver to make it 20-12.  Despite a late surge from Devizes, they couldn’t execute and came away with a disappointing defeat.  This was a great effort by both sides, played in great spirits and showcased the best of the local rivalry between the two clubs.  Trowbridge were worthy winners, with their back line punching well in comparison to Devizes, albeit, Devizes will be disappointed not to have won with the platform provided by the forwards who interlinked incredibly well and dominated their counterparts.

Devizes will look to take the positives from this defeat, as they host Gordano in the Papa Johns Community South Shield Quarter final at home on Saturday.  A win would see Devizes into the hat for the semi finals and one step away from playing at Saracens StoneX stadium, so all to play for.