Match report courtesy of Alistair Morrison
This should have been the first round of the second half of the season but for the interruption by Storm Bert and the match last week at Longlevens being called off.
Trowbridge went straight into the attack but their first two line out throws were crooked and three penalties conceded ended with them defending in their own 22. This resulted in Keynsham scoring a converted try, but soon Trowbridge were back on level terms when Alex Murchison won the race to touch down following a Tom Weaver kick ahead to score a try which Weaver turned into a goal.
The failure to field the next kick off then resulted in a penalty, converted by Keynsham, made the scored 10-7 before Trowbridge had made any move, but from that point Trowbridge began to assert themselves. For the rest of the first half they dominated with 80% of possession. Rory Murchison powered his way over from close range for Trowbridge to take the lead for the first time and soon after right wing Oakley Milton miraculously rescued a ball going into touch and from the same move Alex Christopher scored in the opposite corner and the half time score was 21-10 in Trowbridge’s favour as both tries were converted by Weaver.
The hosts scored twice in the early first few minutes of the second half. Christopher ran in from forty metres to score to earn a try bonus point before full back James Macfarlane ran into the post while trying to retrieve a kick. The ball went loose before bouncing short of the line. Still in play Milton gathered to score under the posts. Weaver maintained his 100% conversion rate and Alex Murchison broke through the centre to score as well with Weaver adding the extras. At this point Trowbridge introduced replacements and slightly allowed Keynsham to apply some pressure. A length of the field move allowed them to score a try before a period of attack resulted in a penalty try in the last five minutes. There was still time for the Doric Park to move back into attack and replacement prop Jaden Ephgrave scored with the final move of the game. Weaver converted and the final whistle was blown.
This was a good result against a team with a good league record and leaves the Wiltshire side in good spirits when they make their first ever visit to Weston super Mare next week. Player of the match sponsored by Plumbase was awarded to Rory Murchison who is sponsored by the SA Group. After the game flanker Andrew Twinney sponsored by Hiscock Engineers was awarded his honours cap for playing in his 100th 1st team game.
Head Coach Ali Lund said "In the changing rooms at half time their was a lot of frustration as the boys discipline, intensity and accuracy had not been at the level they expect of themselves. But full credit to the team as they came out of the blocks at the start of the 2nd half with a bang and put together an impressive performance and got the result we wanted. 27 players have represented the 1st team in the first half of the season which shows that whilst there has been some consistency, which builds continuity, there is lots of competition for places and spots in the squad are hard to keep hold of. We are all excited for the 2nd half of the season and the challenges and lie ahead."