An exciting rugby match vs Downside...

King’s Bruton rugby coach, Ben Hawley, believes that this performance brings this season from a good season to a fantastic one.

King’s Bruton having only lost in their preseason match vs Dauntsey’s and a Cup match vs Downside had a lot to play for when facing Downside again. It was a tough first half, Downside scored in the first 5 minutes with an excellently executed try. However, we were able to show resilience in defence, and had some real match defining moments. Javdat led ferociously in both attack and defence and showed that we were up for the game. After battling in Downside’s 5-meter line for a long period of time, Kit scored in the corner to make it  5-5. Just before the end of the second half, both King’s and Downside had an opportunity at a goal but missed.

The second half started with high tempo, and Isaac nearly scored a kick through in the corner. I think it’s massively encouraging to see how we controlled our aggression and played in the right areas of the pitch. We were relentless in both attack and defence. However, Downside scored 60 minutes into the game from a 5-meter scrum. I was confident that King’s had enough time to score, as I knew we have been in this situation before. Lewi broke through the line in our own half, to create a perfect two on one, to put our top try scorer Isaac in the corner. The score was 12 - 12 with 7 minutes left. 

King’s kept on battling in Downside’s 22m line, but they were hard to break down from close range. After opting for the lineout 2 times from penalties and getting no success. Downside gave one last penalty away on the touchline and Lewi bravely stepped up to take the kick. After missing two in the first half, he slotted this kick to win the game 15 - 12.

This season, I have been impressed with the unity the team has created. They all love playing rugby for one another and are eager to get better each week. We still have 2 really important games, and we cannot get ahead of ourselves. However, they should be proud of that performance, and it will certainly go down in King’s Bruton's memory as one of the most exhilarating matches.

Ben Hawley - Head of Rugby

Watch the match highlights below.

Flickr album: Rugby vs Downside & Sexey's - 18th November 2021 | Height: auto | Theme: Default | Skin: Default Skin