RUGBY: Minety 17 Combe Down 19 (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

RUGBY: Minety 17 Combe Down 19

4:30pm Tuesday 2nd October 2012 in Sport

A STRONG finish from Minety couldn’t make up for a poor start as Bath visitors Combe Down did just enough to clinch their Dorset & Wilts One North contest.

Visiting fly-half Dan Shepherd punished Minety’s ill-disciplined start with three well-struck penalties to give Combe Down an early nine-point lead.

Poor handling frequently frustrated the hosts, who lost number eight Pete Hazell to a leg injury, but they finally got their act together in the second period.

A break by centre Dave Church put winger Dale Langdown away for a try in the corner, Luke Radcliffe succeeding with a difficult conversion.

As Down indiscipline grew, a sin-binning sending them down to 14 men, Minety skipper Tom Fitzcharles capped a 20 metre dash with a try to bring his team to within two points.

Combe Down responded as Matt Musgrove touched down and Shepherd added the extras.

But the hosts took the game to the wire with a last-minute try from prop Martin Coe, but the conversion to level the score missed.

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