THE weather was the only winner last weekend with Chard RFC 1st XV league match  against Crediton and the 2nd XV match against Somerton both being postponed because of frozen pitches.

Chard Firsts have had their last two games postponed and currently lie in 10th place in the Regional 2 Tribute South West Division.

They have to date won three league matches with their victories coming home and away against Bridgwater & Albion and a home win against Sherborne.

They also have one draw under their belt with a fine performance away against Wadebridge in Cornwall on the opening Saturday of the season.

They have a total of 16pts and are currently one point above Bridgwater and 2pts better off than Sherborne. They do however have games in hand against both these teams.

At the beginning of the season the new leagues came into being and Chard found themselves placed in Regional two south west which includes three teams from Cornwall, one from Dorset, four from Devon and three from Somerset.

Chard have played well in most of their games but have literally paid the penalty for giving way too many penalties which have not only prevented them from taking advantage of scoring opportunities but have also given their opponents possession which all too often have been taken advantage of.

Certainly on another day Chard could have won at least two if not three other matches which would have put them in a more comfortable position. The effort made by the players can not be questioned.

Some may say that Chard lost a few key players to other clubs pre season and have had more than their fair share of injuries  which is right but when one door closes another opens, and the Chard forwards are a match for any one including St Austell and the whole team are well led by skipper Luke Aplin and are more than capable of getting the results necessary to ensure they stay in this division.

They all work hard in training and are fully committed to the cause. The team enjoy tremendous support for all their home matches and long may this continue.

The 2nd xv are in 2nd place in Counties 3 tribute Somerset south and have currently won 8 of the 11 games played to date and should continue to go from strength to strength.

The main issue for the 2nds is that they are rarely able to field the same side and no doubt if they had been able to field a settled side then there is a very  strong case for arguing  that they could have won all their games.

The Ladies section at the club is going from strength to strength as is the mini and junior section.

The club are always keen to offer an opportunity to anyone wishing to play the game and to anyone wishing to be part of the club whether they play or not.

Off the field the club remains a terrific social and community hub  for the people of Chard and district and the efforts of all the backroom staff at the club that make everything tick can not be underestimated.

Matches start again on Saturday 7th January when the 1st xv travel to Newton Abbot and the 2nds are at home to Wiveliscombe 2nds both kicking off at 2pm.