Match Report - Gloucestershire B v Somerset B (4th November)

Gloucestershire B 13 - Somerset B 12

On Sunday, two of our lads had the opportunity to represent the County B squad in the first of this season's inter county matches against Somerset at Widden Old Boys RFC.


George Cusworth (Flanker) and Christian Hartery (Scrum Half) had been selected after first impressing for their schools and then districts before coming through another final trial.




After watching the "A" side go down 28-5 to a well drilled Somerset side, the pressure was on the second string but they responded by dominating the first half with both of our lads playing key roles with Hartery making some nice breaks round the fringes and providing good service to his backline and Cusworth working as hard as he usually does at Levens and frequently being in the centre of the pack effort. Despite their dominance, they had nothing to show for the first half as it ended 0-0 thanks to some dogged Somerset defence and some wayward goal kicking from the hosts.

The second half was a different affair with Somerset starting the stronger and going ahead with a well taken try with the first few minutes. Gloucestershire responded with some excellent back play resulting in their centre making a decisive burst before feeding their winger to cruise over in the corner. More pressure brought a penalty to Gloucestershire in front of the posts which was successfully converted for an 8-5 lead. Once again the visitors hit back and took the lead with a converted try with just 5 minutes to go. As the clock ticked down, a quick tap penalty and kick ahead brought chaos in the Somerset defence and the loose ball was picked up by Cusworth who was stopped just inches from the line but Gloucestershire managed to recycle the ball quickly and get the ball out wide for captain and lock James Clutterbuck (Cheltenham) to score the winning try for a fine 13-12 victory.

There are two more matches for the side this season - Nov 18th Cornwall (Away at Wellington School, Somerset) and Nov 25th (Devon (Away at Torquay RFC).