A Blues squad missing several players due to injury and illness produce a good performance to beat the Seasiders and gain a much needed try bonus point win, lifting them out of the relegation zone, Kris Ford making his Blues debut

Thanks to Newbury U 8’s who were team mascots for the day

Blues kick off the match on a wet afternoon on a heavy pitch and manage to get hold of the ball, Blues attack through several phase’s getting into Weston’s 22, Blues forwards keep up the pressure on Weston’s defence and are rewarded when after numerous phases of play spent in Weston’s 22 Ollie Spanswick punches through the defensive line to score, Richard West adds the conversion, a great start for the Blues 7-0 3 mins

Weston kick off, Blues gather and return the kick, Weston do the same and a knock on gives Weston a scrum just in Blues 22, Weston win their scrum but cough up possession allowing Blues to clear to touch just outside their own 22, Weston’s lineout is not straight giving Blues a scrum which they win but the clearing kick is straight out back for a Weston lineout, from the lineout Weston attack the Blues but good defence forces the knock on giving Blues a scrum and the chance to clear their line. Blues win the scrum and run out of defence before Richard West puts in a good kick deep into Weston’s 22, a good chase is rewarded when Weston are penalised for lot releasing the ball in the tackle, Richard West kicks the penalty 10-0 12 mins

Weston manage to regain the ball from their restart kick and spread it across the pitch getting into Blues 22 before they concede a penalty at the tackle, Blues clear to touch, Weston steal the lineout and run the ball getting back to Blues 22 before they spill the ball allowing Blues to kick clear up the pitch. Weston run back at Blues but a knock-on halts their progress, Blues win the scrum and run before a good kick pushes Weston back, Weston again attack making good ground but concede a penalty allowing Blues to kick into touch, lineout won Blues attack and a good Josh Bartlett run takes play into Weston’s 22 before a knock on gives Weston a defensive scrum.
Weston win their scrum and after a couple of phases clear to touch on half way, Blues win their lineout and run the ball, the ball is spread quickly through the backs allowing Jamie Futcher to run up the touchline and back under the posts to score a good team try Richard West converts 17-0 26 mins

Blues concede a penalty from the restart allowing Weston to kick to touch well in Blues territory, Weston attack from the lineout and spend time camped in Blues 22 before a penalty allows Blues to clear to touch, lineout won Blues attack, a good crossfield kick from Dan Thorne is caught by Cameron Golby Barr and he gets into Weston’s 22 before he is halted and a marginal forward pass gives Weston a scrum. Weston win the scrum and kick up field, Blues counter attack and another Josh Bartlett run takes play up to the try line, Blues are unfortunate when a knock on gives Weston a 5m scrum, they win the scrum and kick clear to touch.
Blues win the lineout and again kick deep into Weston’s half, they hurriedly kick clear, Blues gather and a good Alex Millar run breaking through several tackles takes play into Weston’s 22, he releases Ollie Spanswick who makes the final yards to score his second try Richard West converts 24-0 35 mins

Blues having been the dominant team for the first 30 mins take their foot of the gas and Weston have soon got on the score sheet, from the restart kick Blues clear to touch but get penalised at the lineout, Weston kick to touch, win the attacking lineout and their forwards maul over the try line allowing Ollie Streeter to score James Mackay converts 24-7 37 mins

Rob Drysdale off George Robinson-Slater on

Blues manage to regain the kick and run before a chip kick is put over the Weston defensive line, they gather and a good phase of play splits the Blues defence and takes play into Blues 22 before a knock on gives Blues a defensive scrum, Blues just hold their scrum but knock on, Weston win their scrum and drive at Blues defence before the ball is spread wide allowing their winger Hayden Tuttiett to score wide out 24-12 half time

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Duncan Craigen off Kris Ford on for his debut

Weston kick off the second half Blues return the kick long, Weston gather and return the kick, the ref adjudges a knock on giving Weston a scrum just in Blues half, scrum won Weston win a penalty which they kick to touch in Blues 22, lineout won Weston run at Blues getting up to the line but cannot get over, Blues in defending the try line concede a penalty which is slotted through the posts by Weston’s James Mackay 24-15 43 mins

Blues need to take the sting out of Weston who have now got their tails up and have scored 15 unanswered points in the last 10 mins either side of half time, Blues kick off, Weston return the kick and a Blues knock on gives the ball to Weston they play advantage making good yards before they lose the ball, a good run from Alex Millar puts Weston on the back foot and Richard West puts them under further pressure when a neat kick is carried back over the try line by Weston’s defender giving Blues a 5 m scrum.
Weston win the Blues scrum and run the ball getting up to the 40m line before a knock-on halts their charge, Blues just hold their scrum and take play back towards Weston’s 22 but the wet ball is knocked on giving Weston a scrum, Weston win the scrum and a penalty which is kicked to touch just in Blues half, their lineout is not straight so Blues have a scrum, again Blues hold their scrum under pressure and a good run is stopped when the ball is nudged forwards, Weston win their scrum but don’t get far conceding a penalty at the tackle just in their own half, Richard West long shot is just short 53 mins

Blues attack from Weston’s 22 drop out getting up to the 22 before there is an injury time out for a Weston player who has to leave the field, play is restarted with a Blues scrum which they hold whilst being pushed back, Blues attack through several phases forcing the Weston defence to infringe, Blues play advantage and are over the line but get held up so back for the penalty which Richard West slots through the posts 27-15 56 mins

Jamie Futcher off Toby Pearce on

Weston manage to regather their restart kick but a knock-on halts their progress, Blues win their scrum and attack before a good kick and chase forces Weston into touch, another injury time out. Blues win a scrum at their lineout when Weston knock on and again put Weston’s defence under pressure but concede a penalty at the tackle, Weston kick to touch, lineout won they again run at Blues but knock on, Blues attack from the scrum but lose the ball allowing Weston to attack, good Blues defence wins a penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch in Weston’s half.
Weston pinch the lineout and run at Blues but a good tackle and rip by Dan Thorne means Blues are back in attack and back into Weston’s half and win a penalty which Richard West slots into touch giving Blues a 5m lineout, Weston knock on at the lineout giving Blues an attacking scrum, Blues win the scrum and the forwards pick and drive getting up to the line where after several phases Ollie Spanswick is over to score his hatrick try and Blues get the four try bonus point, Richard West converts 34-15 69 mins

Blues have the better of the remaining minutes and are unlucky not to add to their points, the game ends with Weston having a final attack, Blues get a team yellow and Weston kick the penalty to touch, they win the lineout but a mistake brings the final whistle

A good win for a much-improved Blues performance means Blues get 5 league points and move out of the bottom 3, the mid table is now quite congested only 7 points separating 7th to 12th place, Blues now need to take this form into the next two games

Forwards MOM Ollie Spanswick, 3 try’s and a good solid all round performance
Backs MOM Richard West, great in defence and accurate place and tactical kicking

Newbury Squad
Graham Stewart, Rob Drysdale James Macauley, Kyle Doel, Duncan Craigen, Dylan Stewart,
Ollie Spanswick, Alex Millar, Anthony Hackett, Richard West, Cameron Golby Barr, Josh Love,
Dan Thorne, Jamie Futcher, Josh Bartlett, George Robinson-Slater, Kris Ford, Toby Pearce

Sat 27th Jan Blues are away at Hornets on their 4G pitch, lets hope for a double over the Weston Super Mare sides in consecutive weeks, KO 14-30

Thanks again to the great Blues support who turn out and always outnumber the opposition followers to support the Blues, much appreciated by the players and coaches