CHIPPENHAM comfortably defeated Walcot in a second round Bristol Combination Cup match at Lansdown on Sunday morning.

With players being tried in different positions and a number of new boys in the squad, Chippenham were expecting a testing encounter and, despite the final score, that’s what they got. Initially Chippenham settled quickly in the blustery conditions and were soon camped deep in Walcot territory.

They had several good runs for the line, with all members of the team contributing to the effort.

The first try of the morning came within five minutes when Waddington scooted round from the back of the breakdown and placed the ball over the line.

Unfortunately the windy conditions made the conversion all but impossible.

A second try followed shortly afterwards, this time from the ever-alert Atkin who scooped the ball out of a ruck and drove over the line. So far, so good, but Walcot were not going to be pushed over.

Their forwards were very strong and, at two tries down, they started to fight back and were soon out-rucking Chippenham.

But they were not able to make any ground and some loose passes saw the ball bobbling round the pitch, invariably to be scooped back up by Chippenham.

The visitors' third try of the morning came when the forwards turned over the ball at the breakdown just short of Walcot’s line and Waddington ran in under the posts. The midfield tussles continued and both sides were guilty of handling errors and loose play.

Walcot’s forwards kept up the pressure and, at times, Chippenham’s play was laboured but it was Chippenham who made the most of their opportunities.

The fourth try of the half came from a penalty when Waddington’s tap and pass found Salt who bludgeoned his way over the line.

Chippenham were unlucky not to add to the score when the ball was whipped out wide from a scrum just inside the Walcot 22 but the final pass was missed. The remainder of the half saw Walcot move up a gear and take the game back to Chippenham.

They tackled hard, secured possession and had several forays into the Chippenham half but could not break through the final defence.

Into the second half, Chippenham’s kick-off went deep into the far left corner and the chasing pack descended on the Walcot defence.

Walcot fumbled the ball and some excellent marauding play by the Chippenham forwards saw Salt take the ball over the line to bag his second of the morning.

With the wind now behind him, Taylor stepped up to slot home the conversion from a narrow angle.

Walcot’s forwards continued to work hard at the breakdown and turned the ball over on numerous occasions but could not escape the Chippenham defenders.

Play was getting scrappy and the loose ball and handling errors from both sides were compounded by a series of needless penalties. Chippenham’s next score came following a positive passage of play, having cleared the ball from their 22 and charged upfield.

The Walcot defence opened up and Taylor sprinted through the gap only to be tackled just short of the line.

The ball was worked back and passed out wide through several sets of hands to Wetton who placed it over the line to finish off the move.

Moore added to the score minutes later with another well-worked try after Chippenham were awarded a penalty and again the ball went through several players before it reached Moore. Walcot kept coming back and had several excellent runs at Chippenham.

Their forwards continued to fight for the ball and the backs started to move it around and, on several occasions, they had Chippenham on the backfoot but still they just could not break through.

Treacy, who had had several good runs from deep, added a superb try when he took the ball at the halfway line and outpaced the Walcot defence to place the ball in the corner.

Taylor stepped up for the successful conversion.

From the restart, Salt took the ball and raced from the Chippenham 22 to the Walcot 22 – not bad for a prop – to set up Chippenham’s final try of the morning which led to Parry scoring under the posts.

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