Tribute Regional 2 South West: Sherborne 21-17 Chard

A GOOD crowd turned up at Sherborne for this local derby under lights despite the very damp conditions and the Chard contingent will have very been disappointed that their team were unable to quite match their recent performances, writes Glyn Hughes.

Chard showed at times that they were more than capable of winning but sadly on the night they gave away too many penalties which gifted the ball back to the home side with one  late in the game giving Sherborne the opportunity to score what would turn out to be the winning try.

Both sides scored three tries but Sherborne converting all three of theirs whereas Chard only converted one.

Chard took an early lead with a try under the posts from George Russo which was converted by Oscar Anderson.

They increased this advantage when Huw Edwards picked up a loose ball close to his own line and after a good run kicked the ball deep into the home 22 area. 

His excellent work caused the home defence to panic and give away a penalty. Anderson took it smartly and number 8 Jack Elliot was on hand to crash over for another try  and even though Anderson somehow managed to miss the straight forward conversion Chard had a healthy 12pt lead and were well on top.

Midway through the half Sherborne pulled things back with a converted try but Chard held on to their advantage until the break so were still in front by 7-12.

Chard had given 12 penalties away in the first half which thwarted their efforts to increase this advantage and shortly after the resumption they paid the price when Sherborne put together some good play and went ahead with another converted try. 14-12

With ten minutes or so to go Chard were under the cosh near their own line but as in recent weeks their defensive performance was terrific and their efforts were rewarded when they won  a penalty close to their own line.

However, In the heat of the moment an over reaction led to an indiscretion and the referee reversed his original decision which led directly to a well organised move and a third converted try under the posts. 21-12

Chard were now too far behind for even a losing bonus point but they got their act together and Anderson squeezed over in the corner.

His conversion hit the post so the final score was 21-17 with Sherborne getting 4pts and Chard 1pt.

Despite this loss the Chard players need a lot of praise for their recent performances which have seen them pull away from the relegation zone and ensured their survival in this tough but excellent league.