On a balmy August afternoon Cheddar Senior RFC opened the new season with a game against a Wells side consisting of some 1st team players and a mixture of 3rds and newcomers. Big thanks must go to Harvey Parsons for bringing the side over.
Looking resplendent in their new kit sponsored by The Bath Arms of Cheddar and SDS Ltd, Cheddar kicked off full of hope and expectation. The first 15 minutes were a tense affair with both teams looking to exploit any defensive weaknesses but finding none. Cheddar, however, were enjoying much more of the possession with Alex Larkin, Neil Campbell and Jake Laken turning over plenty of ball. Nobby Clarke was his usual terrier like self, Alex Conroy was everywhere and Mark Pilgrim was steadying the backs. The deadlock was broken just before half time when centre Josh Roberts smashed his way over the line with 4 defenders hanging off of him.
With such a slender 5-0 lead going into the 2nd half things were again going to be edgy. Wells were now enjoying some sustained pressure on the home side but could not break through thanks to some fine work by Steve Lorimer and Josh Hole. The Stobart brothers also defended the line manfully. New hooker Luke Bryan was having a superb debut for the club as well. Patrick Cullen was making some trademark breaks from the scrum and Gwyn Roberts was rock solid at full back. Something had to give and Andy Underwood capped a superb day with an excellent solo try rampaging his way over the line leaving defenders trailing in his wake.
With the conversion good the game ended with Cheddar winning 12-0. A thoroughly deserved victory over a very talented, competitive and spirited Wells side. With 8 more fixtures secured for the season Cheddar can now look forward to building on this success.