After a hard fought 17-13 victory at Fortress Shaft Road, Oldfield took the points and climbed to 5th in Somerset 2.

A great blend of youth and experience proved to be decisive for Oldfield, who played with a spirit and aggression that had been threatening to cut loose in recent matches. 

For the second week running, the Oldfield scrum was dominant and the front row of Murph, Nutty and Farmer Patrick disrupted almost every Clevedon put in.  Time after time Oldfield got the nudge on, time after time the scrum wheeled through 90 degrees and time after time the referee reset the scrum, without turning over possession. Young second row forward Kane Newport made his Oldfield debut one to remember, with a storming match. Late in the first half he was very unlucky to have a perfectly good try dubiously ruled out for a double movement. Along with spritely Jerry Burns he formed a second row pairing that could have been made in heaven (or somewhere!!).

The half-time score line of 3-3 was a little flattering to Clevedon, but early second-half pressure saw Oldfield win a penalty. Spurning an easy three points Oldfield elected to take a 5 metre scrum. This decision was rewarded with a great effort from the pack and a pushover try from No 8 - Tom Chapman. The conversion was slotted to make the score 10-3 and at this point Oldfield looked set to ease away.

In a very good all round performance Clint Robertson, at inside centre, was outstanding and frequently crashed up the middle in his typical ‘bosh bosh’ style. Open side Russ Honeybun was once again everywhere and the result was a steady stream of good possession. The pack provided a good platform from set pieces and the line out drill was superb, in large part due to the pinpoint accuracy of Nutty's throwing in. Clevedon’s defence out wide was however, solid so possession translated to territorial advantage, but not more points on the board. Oldfield then switched off for just ten minutes and this was costly as Clevedon snatched two tries, one of which followed a Clevedon player being clearly in touch.

Chasing the game at 10-13, Oldfield were left with 15 minutes in which to score. And despite continued pressure the game went down to the wire. With less than two minutes on the clock Oldfield were awarded a penalty in their own half, close to the right touchline. In a moment of quick thinking Oldfield dummied the kick to touch and put up a left field cross kick, where they had a clear numerical advantage. Clevedon gathered the kick, but a ferocious tackle and great work on the ground from Clint led to quick turnover ball. Grisly Jack Burns fed scrum half Guilan Clark down the blind side and his perfectly timed pass was met at full pace by winger Andy Taylor, who scored in the corner. With just 30 seconds left, the touchline conversion was nailed to see Oldfield win 17-13.

After a run of narrow defeats the show is now firmly back on the road. Gordano await next week in a game that now offers the chance to build on a fantastic performance against Clevedon – well done lads    

Tries: Chapman, Taylor       Conversions: Bunton (2)        Penalty: Bunton