This was a tougher game than expected for Ivel’s flagship team.  Corsham have secured the services of some new players during the off season and their strengths came through. 

The match became even tougher for Ivel when they lost last week’s Man of the Match Tom Lane to injury, in the first five minutes.  The game went through stages of even possession and the visitors held their own for patches during the first half and were pressuring the Corsham line for periods of time.  Alas, the pressure could not be converted to points as the home side put up a strong defence and by half time Ivel were trailing but not too disheartened.  

The true spirit of Ivel shone through in the second half as they continued to play as a team and for each other. Ivel suffered another injury with prop Neil Jackson spraining his ankle forcing a change to the front row.  Against a stronger scrum this dented Ivel’s aspirations. The Corsham backs handling was quick, accurate and scores resulted from fast flowing moves. 

Despite having more points scored against them in the second half, the Yeovil based team kept on playing showing true rugby spirit. Their efforts were rewarded when Sam Armitstead managed to score a penalty for the visitors.  Right up to the final whistle Ivel offered as strong a defence as they could and counter-attacked when the opportunity arose. Unfortunately this never-say-die spirit failed in the last minute when Corsham managed to breach the defence and score a final try. 

Captain Kris Shore was disappointed but not down-hearted. “This was only the first league game of the season and there is plenty of time to get things going. We can get stronger and I know the lads will bounce back more determined than ever.”

Ivel Barbarians were on a high, full of confidence and enthusiasm coming into this match. After last week’s success in the “home” match against Bradford on Avon, Corsham were the kind of challenge they required.
Ivel kicked off and put the visitors under pressure straight away, forcing them back into their 22. But Corsham aren’t in the top half of the table for nothing and soon pushed Ivel back. Barely ten minutes had been played when a mistake, in Ivel’s midfield, saw the ball go loose and Corsham benefited. They scored a try which was converted successfully. Then, following a ruck, Ivel were penalised for having hands in and Corsham converted the penalty. The blustery conditions played havoc with a kick from full-back being returned to the kicker, he knocked-on but, with the referee playing the advantage, Corsham scored again. The conversion was missed. This woke Ivel up and they went straight back at Corsham. The visitors committed a foul and Ivel were given the chance of a penalty. Sam Armitstead took account of the wind for his kick, but it went just the wrong side of the post. Ivel then kept up a period of sustained pressure on the visitor’s 5-metre line but failed to breakthrough. Then a breakaway and, with an overlap in the corner, Corsham scored. The conversion was successful. From the restart Ivel pressure forced an error and they won a scrum. The ball came out to Rhys Biggin who beat the defenders to score under the posts. Sam Armitstead scored the conversion.

Half time 7-22

The second half started with both teams ready and prepared to score more points. Just a few minutes in and Jamie Ritchie was replaced, at prop, by Sam Bennett who had such a good game when coming on last week. In what seemed a blink of an eye Ed Mason went off with a knee injury and was replaced by Club Captain Kris Shore, returning from injury himself. Corsham put a huge amount of pressure on Ivel in their 5-metre zone but the defence held strong. It was a superb exhibition of teamwork and resilience. After 15 minutes Ivel managed to secure ball at the breakdown and Man of the Match Rhys led the charge over the halfway line. The pressure was off. Corsham came back but Ivel held strong. Then it went back up the other end and Corsham found themselves digging deep to defend. With time running out Ivel won ball and, in almost a repeat of last week’s move Sam Armitstead went through the defence and scored under the posts. He secured the conversion. The referee blew after 85 minutes; such was the injury and stoppage count. Both teams had put their all in and Ivel can be proud of their second half display. All that’s needed now is to put that effort and play into the whole match for the last two games of the season.

Full time 14-22