CHIPPENHAM beat Bath University 43-30 in the semi-finals of the Bath Combination Cup last week.

Against a dynamic and pacy University side, the South West One East outfit dominated in front of around 300 at Allington Fields to book their spot in the final against Keynsham.

Chippenham put out a near-full-strength squad against a University opponent who had always proved tough to beat.

The early stages saw both teams playing to their strengths but it was Chippenham who were building good pressure, and they soon surged into a 6-0 lead from the boot of Tom Douglas.

Bath showed how dangerous they were with the ball, and the visitors’ number 11 showed a wicked turn of speed to score the first try.

The Uni lads increased the lead in a very cagey first half by scoring another try as Chippenham were reduced to 13 with a couple of yellow cards.

But the home side remained a threat, and they were unlucky not to score themselves when being held up over the line twice before half-time.

Trailing by four at the break, Chippenham made a few changes and Douglas scored the first points of the half with his trusty boot, taking the score to 12-13.

He then continued the point-scoring after rounding off an efficient attack by scoring the first Chippenham try.

Douglas’ score paved the way for a cluster of further Chippenham tries. Tim Moon dotted down, as did the powerful Foti Faosiliva and captain Harry Murphy.

The game was much more open by this point, and despite the score being 36-16 to Chippenham, Bath refused to give up.

The Uni side showed impressive fitness to keep attacking at pace, and soon they scored two tries to reduce the deficit.

However, the final word was had by the impressive Faosiliva and Chippenham emerged 43-30 winners in a high-skilled contest between two powerful teams.

Man of the match went to Douglas after he contributed a total of 23 points via a combination of his boot and a try.

The final took place on Wednesday, May 11 and was set to be played at Premiership Rugby side Bath’s The Rec.