Blues kick off against the wind on a overcast dry but windy afternoon in front of a big crowd, Blues manage to get their hands on the ball and immediately put pressure on the Chippenham defence, Chippenham get a defensive scrum when Blues lose the ball forwards, Chippenham under pressure from the Blues pack manage to hold their scrum and kick clear, Blues run straight back at Chippenham and again put severe pressure on Chippenham’s defence spending several phases camped in their 22, eventually Blues make the breakthrough when a neat offload from Dan Thorne to James Macaulay allows him to break the tackles and score close to the posts, Dan Thorne converts, 7-0, 5 mins

Chippenham’s restart kick bounces into touch and they manage to steal Blues lineout, Chippenham put Blues under pressure win a penalty which they take quick and get another when Blues don’t retreat 10m, Blues get marched back another 10 so Chippenham now kick for the posts, the kick drifts wide, Blues touch down and take the 22 drop out which Chippenham gather and using the wind send a good kick bouncing into touch in Blues 22, again Chippenham steal the lineout and their forwards put Blues under pressure, Blues concede a penalty at the tackle allowing Chippenham to tap quickly and they break through to score close to the posts, the conversion is good 7-7, 11 mins

From the restart kick Blues chase is good forcing Chippenham to clear to touch, Blues win this lineout and attack spread the ball wide, Blues get a penalty which is kicked to touch in Chippenham’s 22, lineout won Blues forwards maul making good meters before they concede a penalty scrum. Chippenham hold their scrum and kick upfield, Blues gather and a good kick rolls into touch in Chippenham’s 22, Chippenham win a penalty scrum at the lineout and get another penalty from the scrum when Blues get off side, the ref has a chat with both captains, Chippenham clear to touch, win their lineout and soon have another penalty which they take quick, Blues defensive line pushes Chippenham backwards forcing them to kick clear, Blues gather and run the ball taking play deep into Chippenham’s half before they cough up possession, Chippenham counter attack and a good run takes play into Blues 22 before they are stopped.
Chippenham manage to keep the ball but soon concede a penalty at the tackle, Blues tap and run, the ref holds up play and again has a chat with both captains, Blues restart with a scrum and take play up to half way getting a penalty at the tackle, Blues tap and go getting into Chippenham’s 22 and get a penalty scrum.
Blues shove Chippenham’s pack backwards getting another penalty scrum, Blues pack is dominant and from the scrum the ball is spread wide a long flat pass allows Harvey North to score in the left-hand corner, the long conversion is blown wide, 12-7, 28 mins

From Chippenham’s long restart kick Blues are held in their own 22 and concede a penalty at the tackle, Chippenham kick to touch win their lineout and put pressure on Blues defence, Blues manage to rib the ball at the tackle but it rolls forwards giving Chippenham an attacking scrum, from the scrum Chippenham attack getting up to the line but are held up, the ref takes play back for an earlier Chippenham penalty which they kick to touch. Lineout won Chippenham’s forwards pick and drive though several phases and get another penalty which they take quickly spreading play across the pitch Blues are caught offside earning a team yellow and Chippenham kick the penalty making the score 12-10, 36 mins

Blues chase is rewarded when they get hold of the ball from their restart kick and put Chippenham under pressure, they infringe giving Blues a penalty and they get a yellow card, Blues tap and go and some good play takes them into Chippenham’s 22, Chippenham manage to steal the ball at the tackle and kick clear to relieve the Blues pressure, Blues gather and run at Chippenham getting back into Chippenham’s half before they spill the ball giving Chippenham a scrum, from the scrum Chippenham again kick upfield, Blues gather and a good solo run from Alex Bancroft takes play back into Chippenham’s 22 before he is stopped, Blues get a penalty scrum at the tackle, injury time out, Blues dominant pack shove Chippenham backwards and over the line allowing Alex Millar to keep control of the ball and drop on it to score a good forwards try, Dan Thorne adds the conversion 19-10, 39 mins

Chippenham’s restart kick bounces into touch, Blues win the lineout their forwards picking and driving before the ball is cleared to touch bringing the half time whistle.

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Stephen Ansell off Ben Hicks on half time

Chippenham kick off the second half into the wind, Blues gather and run the ball but cough up possession at the tackle, Chippenham attack getting into Blues 22 before they lose the ball, Blues run out of defence before putting in a neat grubber kick which they manage to regather and soon have a penalty at the tackle, Blues tap and go before putting up a high kick, Chippenham gather in their own 22 and get a scrum when Blues knock on in the tackle. Chippenham hold their scrum and kick up field, Blues gather and some good running rugby and quick passing through Alex Bancroft and Dan Thorne releases Harvey North to run the touch line and score the bonus point try, Dan Thorne adds the conversion 26-10, 44 mins

Chippenham restart and manage to get hold of the ball and attack the Blues, Chippenham get a penalty which they take quick getting into Blues 22, they put in a chip kick which Blues manage to gather but concede a penalty at the tackle

Duncan Craigen off Max Hayman on 48 mins

Chippenham take the tap penalty getting up to the try line, their forwards spend several phases picking and driving but cannot break the Blues defence, Chippenham change tact and spread the ball wide through several phases but still cannot break through eventually they concede a penalty which allows Blues to kick clear, the long kick doesn’t find touch, Chippenham run the ball then chip kick over the Blues defensive line, Blues gather and spread the ball wide but a forward pass halts their progress, injury time out

Tom Hunt on James Lewis off 51 mins

Chippenham just win a messy scrum but lose the ball Dylan Stewart first to react and gets his hands on the ball, Blues run at Chippenham getting a penalty scrum which they win making more ground before spilling the ball forwards, Chippenham win the scrum and kick, Blues run the ball getting a penalty scrum at the tackle, from the scrum Blues spread the ball wide taking play up to Chippenham’s 22 before they are tackled into touch, Chippenham win their lineout and a penalty which they kick long to touch just outside Blues 22.
Lineout won Chippenham take play across the pitch but go into touch on Blues 22, play comes back for a forward pass and a Blues scrum, from the scrum Blues run out of defence getting a penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch just in Chippenham’s half.
Blues spread the ball first one way then back the other making good ground, from the tackle in mid field Max Hayman takes the pass at pace to break through several tackles to score a good try under the posts Dan Thorne adds the conversion, 33-10 68 mins

Chippenham take the restart kick, Blues gather, and Alex Bancroft makes the break and a good run takes play into Chippenham’s 22, Blues lose the ball at the tackle allowing Chippenham to run out of defence, they make ground before conceding a penalty scrum at the tackle

Stephen Ansell on Josh Winfield off 72 mins

Blues win their scrum and put pressure on Chippenham taking play up to their 22, Blues keep the ball live and get up to the line but concede a penalty, Chippenham tap and go but don’t get far before Blues steal the ball taking play across the pitch, Blues keep up the attack and spread the ball back across the pitch to Harvey North who is over to score his hat trick try the conversion is just wide, 38-10 74 mins

Chippenham kick off Blues take play across the pitch but concede a penalty, they tap and go but don’t get far before a knock on halts their progress

Toby Thorne off James Lewis on 75 mins

Play has become a bit untidy in the last few minutes, Blues win their scrum on half way, but a loose pass is intercepted by Chippenham who break through to score under the posts and add the conversion, 38-17, 77 mins

The last few minutes are a bit error strewn and neither side add to their score, 38-17 Full time

A good keenly fought game of rugby, credit to Chippenham who kept going for the whole 80 minutes and got the last score

MOM Kyle Doel
DOD Alex Bancroft

Newbury Squad
Stephen Ansell, Rob Drysdale, James Macaulay, Kyle Doel, Duncan Craigen, Josh Winfield,
Dylan Stewart, Alex Millar
Alex Sparkes, Alex Bancroft, Harvey North, Dan Thorne, Josh Bartlett,
James Lewis, Toby Thorne,
Ben Hicks, Max Hayman, Tom Hunt,

Big thanks as always to the Blues supporters who again turned out in numbers

Big thanks to Ian Jack for the great matchday photo’s

Thanks to Jess for the match video

Thanks to Steve Hubbard who ran touch as Dave was away

Blues next match is away against Marlborough, Feb 16th 2-30pm KO.