Combe off the pace again—despite two points

Just before the “Big Freeze” I got very buoyant when Combe played excitingly against good opposition and earned two bonus points. It was, I hoped, the start of their push for survival as they had some easier games coming up and it was easy to see a way out!
One of those games was, after all, against Lydney at home and by now we would be in the mix with half-a-dozen other clubs, with all to play for. It didn’t quite work out that way but nonetheless, on Saturday, buoyed again, this time by the Supporters’ lunch I looked forward to the game with some optimism despite not seeing Combe’s Firsts winning for ten months now!
The optimism seemed very well founded after five minutes when Kieron Leeper leaped to intercept a high pass near the Combe 22 and, after some hesitation, backed his own speed all the way to the line. Luke Giles added the points with an impressive kick from wide on the right.
Lydney have an inordinately big pack but the Combe forwards were able to contain them in the set-pieces but found them a handful in the loose. As a result there was perhaps some inevitability about their first try some twelve minutes later when left wing Charlie Vines tidied up the pieces.
Not so much inevitable but a downright certainty was Lydney’s second another twelve minutes later, following a penalty. Combe were reduced to 14 allegedly for pulling down the scrum and had lost their scrum-half at the same time with an ankle injury and were still trying to get themselves in order when No.8 Paul Scott dived over at the foot of a ruck. This time, full-back Tony Wicks, added the points from an easier position.
It took eight minutes for Combe to get back on terms 12-all when Tom Hockedy, playing full-back this week, broke loose down the left flank after some impressive foraging from the Combe forwards and some slick work by the three-quarters.
Your match reporters have been forced to record how Combe seem to go AWOL for a few minutes in virtually every match for the last year, despite the coaching teams efforts to address the problem. This match was not any different.
There was just two minutes left on the clock to half-time when Combe drew level but that was enough for Lydney’s flanker James McMahon to score a try and then two minutes after half-time Paul Scott bundled over for his second and when Tony Wicks added the conversion Lydney had doubled their points tally to 24 in just four minutes.
Combe’s heads could well have gone down but they battled away for the next ten minutes and were ultimately awarded a penalty, in front, but long, and Luke Giles appeared to make easy work of the difficult chance.
Hooker Hamish Barton spearheaded Combe’s own efforts at using brute force, and very quickly, playing 7, Zane Winslade added another five points and Combe enjoyed the narrowest of leads 25—24.
The excitement of the game in general, and the Combe lead in particular looked like we were in for a great finale. If either of the conversions had been successful it might have been different but substitute front-row Leigh Green made it look too easy for Lydney to strike back.
With four minutes left substitute Will Green took the chance of an easy penalty to increase the lead to seven points and Combe saw out time quite content to settle for the two bonus points—but that now looks like it will not be enough in the final analysis.
Team: Hockerdy; Leeper, Brown, Davies, Adeniya; Giles, Buttery (McDonough); Kavanagh, Barton, Mitchell, Watkins, Wright, Bradford, Winslade, Wallis. Subs. Lewis, McKinnell, Street, Brooks.

Match Reporter: Mike Attewell.