South West 1 West 
Newent 38, Chard 7

CHARD’s woes were summed up in this game as, once again, they never looked like winning a game away from home, writes Glyn Hughes.

This inability to pick up points on the road has certainly been their Achilles heel and the main reason why they have been unable to pull away from the bottom three positions.

Having put in a stunning performance to put Bridgwater to the sword last weekend, Chard were never at the races in this one.

Injuries and unavailability did not help but, to be honest, it has been forever thus for Chard in away games this season.

Chard did get a try just before the break when Siljeur crossed for the score, which was converted by Oesman.

This should have given them hope, especially as they would have the advantage of the slope and wind in the second half.

Sadly, that was not to be and in many ways their second-half performance was a poor one.

Newent were a committed side rather than an outstanding one and Chard supporters will remember that their team won the home match very comfortably.

Yet in this game Newent certainly wanted it more than Chard, who simply had a bad day at the office.

This coming Friday, Chard will have a chance to make amends when they take on local rivals North Petherton under lights, with the game kicking off at 7.30pm.

This game should attract a good-sized crowd and has been rescheduled from Saturday afternoon, so all rugby fans are encouraged to come and support your local team.

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Somerset 2 South
Chard 2nd XV 39, Burnham 2nd XV 20

IT is quite amazing how things can change after just a few months.

At the beginning of the season, Chard travelled to Burnham and lost by 99 but, in this game, they produced an excellent display and deservedly won this match with an outstanding team performance from a very young side.

Burnham opened the scoring with a penalty goal but this was soon cancelled out with a similar effort from Cam Helliar.

Chard led 23-13 at the break and built on this lead with more tries in the second half.

In all, Chard crossed the Burnham line on five occasions – tries coming from number eight Dean Richards, lock Warren Lewis, centre Murray Squire, lock Adam Moore and winger Billy Vernon.

Helliar added two penalties and four conversions.

On Saturday, Chard 2nds are away at North Petherton 2nds (ko 3pm).

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Somerset 3 South
Wyvern 2nd XV 45, Chard 3rd XV 19

A SOMEWHAT mature Chard XV felt Wyvern were rather unsporting for fielding too many younger players who were fit and fast!

Chard had the experience, however, and this know-how managed to keep Wyvern at bay for long periods.

The visitors had much of the play in the opening half but conceded four tries before the break when the hosts did break through.

Chard full-back Gavin Watts tackled well and he claimed a try just before the break after good possession from Andy Whitehouse to make the half-time score 26-5 to the home side.

Chard had a good start to the second half, and Didi Downs snuck over for a well-worked try from a setpiece move, before Mike Farthing showed he had lost none of his pace over 10 metres to storm over for Chard’s third try – Kev George converting both.

With Chard tiring, Wyvern again used pace to break through the defence to score three tries in the final quarter, two of which were converted, to run out comfortable winners.

It was a splendid afternoon for all, with Chard beating their opponents to the bar by some distance.

The age range in this game was between 17 and 60-plus and the players were a mixture of former 1st XV and absolute beginners, so anyone who would like to get involved would be very welcome.

Chard 3rds are without a game at the weekend.

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HOLYROOD Sixth Form BTEC Sport student and Chard RFC player Emil Szydetko has successfully represented the Poland Under-20s national rugby team.

Szydetko attended open trials in Exeter and after impressing the selectors he was chosen to attend a training camp taking place over in Poland.

The team trained four times a day for a week, culminating in an international match against Lithuania Under-20s, played on March 11.

The game was played in Gdansk, and Szydetko had to pay his own expenses in order to participate.

He played 66 minutes before being subbed off and, although he did not score, it was a fine performance from the Chard man as he helped his country to a 22-10 victory.

This is a fantastic achievement for Szydetko who, having lived in Chard for six years, only recently joined Chard RFC Colts team following his enjoyment of the sport experienced at Holyrood Academy.

Szydetko said: “I have gained so much experience and can’t wait for the next game.

“I live by the motto: ‘The only pain in rugby is regret; take all the chances you get!’”