Blues pipped by last minute drop-goal

Chippenham kick off the game after a minute’s silence on a cloudy but dry day, Newbury take and kick back into Chippenham’s half which Chippenham take and run back at Newbury but lose the ball. Newbury decide to kick back into Chippenham territory and a good chase reaps its reward when they manage to win the ball but are immediately penalised giving Chippenham the chance to get back into the Blues half, Chippenham win the lineout and attack the Blues defence getting up to Newbury’s 22 before winning a penalty, the Chippenham kick sails just past the posts.
Newbury take the 22 drop out and kick long, a couple of kicks later Chippenham decide to run the ball but a great Rob Drysdale tackle halts their progress and earns the Blues a penalty, Richard West kicks safely to touch. The Blues win the lineout and run at the Chippenham defence making good yards before they are penalised allowing Chippenham to kick to safety 10 m in the Newbury half, Chippenham win their lineout and maul forwards before they grubber kick through the Blues defence and chase.
Toby Thorne is there first and kicks to touch, Chippenham concede a scrum at the lineout when the throw is not straight, Newbury win the scrum and a penalty which Richard West kicks to touch, lineout won the Newbury forwards pick and go, Josh Winfield then Eddie Farebrother makes a good run but Newbury give away a scrum in the tackle when they knock on a few meters short of the try line.
Chippenham have a scrum and a chance to clear their lines but the Blues pack are dominant and win the scrum, the forwards pick and drive and force the Chippenham defence to concede a penalty scrum, again the Blues pack win the scrum and force another penalty scrum, Chippenham’s 6 earning a yellow card, Newbury win the scrum and the forwards maul forwards, Tom McNamara getting over the line but is held up. Newbury have a 5 m scrum but Chippenham are strangely awarded a penalty when the scrum collapses a lucky escape and they kick to touch to relieve the pressure. Chippenham win an untidy lineout and the loose ball is hacked forward and into touch, the Blues win the lineout and kick to safety the ball rolling nicely into touch, Chippenham keep possession at the lineout and win a penalty which is kicked to touch, Newbury win a scrum at the lineout when Chippenham infringe, scrum won the ball is fed back to Richard West who puts a great kick down field and into touch. Chippenham win the lineout then a penalty when the Blues infringe, the penalty is kicked to touch just in Newbury’s 22, the pressure is relieved when Newbury are awarded a penalty at the lineout and they clear their lines kicking safely to touch.
The Blues win their lineout and the forwards pick and drive through Paul Hackett, Tom McNamara, Graham Stewart and Ben Hicks forcing another penalty which Richard West slots further up field and into touch. Again the Blues forwards attack from the lineout but Chippenham’s defence holds firm and they are rewarded with a penalty, which is kicked to touch. Chippenham win the lineout and put up a high kick taken by Aaron McDowell and shipped back to Richard West who kicks nicely to touch, Chippenham win the lineout and their forwards maul up field before another high kick is put up, Newbury knock on giving Chippenham the scrum.
Scrum won they again put up a high kick but are penalised, Blues lose the scrum allowing Chippenham to put up the high kick, which they manage to regain and keep up the pressure on the Blues defence, after a couple of phases a grubber kick is threaded through the Blues defence which is taken by Toby Thorne and kicked back up field. Chippenham this time run back at Newbury but are stopped when the Blues defence manages to shove them into touch, lineout won Blues maul up field and are rewarded with a penalty on the Chippenham 40m line, Richard West kicks the long penalty through the posts 3-0, 37 mins
Chippenham’s restart is taken by the Blues and a good kick and chase by Toby Thorne means the Blues manage to regain possession and keep up the attack which is rewarded with another long penalty which again Richard West slots over 6-0, 40 mins
Newbury knock on from the restart and the half time whistle is blown

Newbury kick off the second half and after a couple of minutes play are rewarded with a penalty after a great scrum 10 meters inside Chippenham’s half, this time the long Richard West kick is just short, the ref deems the Chippenham defender carries the ball over the try line before he touches down awarding the Blues a 5m scrum. The Blues pack keep up their dominance at the scrum and walk forwards marshalled by scrum half Joe Binfield forcing the Chippenham scrum to concede a penalty before Blues can cross the line, Richard West this time kicks safely through the posts 9-0, 43 mins
Chippenham restart and a good chase is rewarded with a penalty, they take a quick tap and go and run at the Blues defence which concedes another penalty, Chippenham slot the penalty into touch in Blues 22. Lineout won their pack maul forwards eventually managing to cross the line wide out on the left to score the long conversion is successful making the score 9-7, 49 mins
Chippenham concede a penalty from Newbury’s restart allowing Richard West to kick to touch well inside Chippenham’s half. The Blues run the ball from the lineout but some big Chippenham tackles are rewarded with a penalty, which allows them to clear up field. Blues spend the next 10 minutes under pressure from Chippenham who manage to keep hold of the ball meaning the Blues have to defend for long periods. The Newbury defence holds out frustrating the Chippenham attacks and forcing the mistakes, some good tackles from Rob Drysdale, Paul Hackett and Iain Herriott forcing mistakes, which allows them to relieve the pressure and kick to the safety of the touchline, also a good Aaron McDowell run takes play back into Chippenham territory before he is stopped. On 65 mins Henry (Maka) Veikune comes on for Josh Winfield.
Chippenham win a penalty and kick to touch to set up another attack, lineout won they knock on giving the Blues a scrum and the chance to take play back into Chippenham territory, scrum won the ball is fed back by Joe Binfield to the backs allowing Dan Thorne to kick to touch on halfway. Newbury win the lineout and again the backs though Richard West and Iain Herriott run at the Chippenham defence before Dan Thorne puts a grubber kick through the Chippenham defence and he wins the chase to keep possession. The Chippenham defence holds out and force the Blues into touch. George Robinson Slater comes on for Ben Hicks 70 mins. Lineout out won Chippenham kick up field the ball rolling into touch in Newbury’s half, the Newbury throw is deemed not straight giving Chippenham an attacking scrum, again Chippenham put pressure on the Newbury defence running up the blindside then across field but cannot make the breakthrough, the Newbury defence holds firm with good tackling from Iain Herriott, Josh Love and Rob Drysdale and manage to steal the ball and kick to touch relieving the pressure. Chippenham win the lineout and are now throwing everything at the Blues defence to try a secure a win, after several phases of play spent in Newbury’s 22 they are unable to breach the Blues defence or force the penalty, Chippenham change tact and the ball is quickly fed back for the drop goal attempt which sadly for the Blues sails through the posts, 9-10 38 mins
Newbury restart and try and force an immediate error with a great chase, they manage to get their hands on the ball but spill it allowing Chippenham to hack through sending the ball back into Newbury’s 22, Jamie Futcher wins the race and manages to keep possession allowing the Blues to kick to safety. Chippenham manage to keep the Blues out of their half for the last couple of minutes of injury time and take the very narrow win to keep up their 100% record and inflict the first home loss on the Blues
Although a loss a good marker to show the improvement of this young squad, an all round squad performance, congratulations to young William Osborne who was on the bench for his first appearance for the first team

MOM went to Dan Thorne the ever present and creative captain

This young Blues squad pushed Chippenham all the way and were unlucky to lose out to a very late drop goal, Newbury take the consolation of a losing bonus point the first Chippenham have conceded.
Good luck to Chippenham for the rest of the campaign, we look forward to the return match at Chippenham later in the season.

The Blues need to play like this next weekend and bounce straight back with a win at Devizes who need a win to help lift them away from the bottom of the league

Thanks to the ref who kept this keenly fought and very close match under control

Thanks to a big home crowd for the great support you give this young squad, thanks to the H2’0 officer Ben

Ben HICKS, Rob DRYSDALE, Graham STEWART, Josh WINFIELD, Tom McNAMARA,
Paul HACKETT, Josh LOVE, Eddie FAREBROTHER, Joe BINFIELD, Richard WEST,
Jamie FUTCHER, Dan THORNE, Iain HERRIOTT, Aaron McDOWELL, Toby THORNE
George ROBINSON SLATER, Henry (Maka) VEIKUNE, William OSBORNE

League results

Leighton Buzzard 25 – 22 Grove
Maidenhead 24 – 10 Devizes
Newbury Blues 9 – 10 Chippenham
Reading 27 – 27 Buckingham
Swindon 31 – 11 Bletchley
Towcestrians 39 – 26 Windsor
Trowbridge 15 – 12 Witney