Devizes RFC

Devizes travelled to Chippenham under lights on Chippenham’s AGP in their first formal outing since March 2020 where the Saddlebacks faced off against North Dorset in a Southern Counties South league match. No one at that time would have thought that the next outing for the Saddlebacks would be in May 2021! The match was played with specific conditions; no scrums or mauls allowed due to current Government and RFU COVID guidelines.  Devizes travelled with a youthful squad, bolstered by club captain Lewis Paget and experienced fly half/inside centre, Dan Sainsbury.  Chippenham’s squad was strong, with a scattering of 1^st XV, 2^nd XV and Academy players and from the first kick off showed their intent with some strong carries from the pack which resulted in an early Chippenham score for second row Sam Larrimor.

This young Devizes side could have caved in, but they showed some solid intent, led by young fly half Matt Tinker interlinking really well with forwards Kieran Hiscock, Charlie Paget and Josh Vizard.  The Devizes attack stretched the Chippenham defence and full back Gus O’Connor managed to jink through several tackles before offloading to the supporting Matt Strong who came off his wing to dot down.

Chippenham edged back in front after some strong carries and offloading play saw them stretch to a 14-7 lead, however Devizes responded again early in the 2^nd quarter with back rower Conor Scott and Sam Holloway making hard yards in contact, before the ball was whipped into Charlie Paget who danced through a couple of tackles to score and level it at 14-14.

For some time defences were then well on top, with some big hits going in from both sides.  Chippenham were finding it hard to break down the stubborn Devizes defence and some excellent turnover ball from the likes of Sainsbury and Hiscock at the breakdown relieved the pressure. 

Into the third quarter, Chippenham edged in front again with some strong pick and go’s close to the Devizes try line to make it 21-14, before Devizes responded well again with a try in the corner from utility back Ryan Webb, who covered several positions throughout the match to bring it to 21-19 with the conversion narrowly missed.  Chippenham then got a fourth score to make it 28-19, as the sides edged into the final quarter, however Devizes rallied yet again with another fine set of carries from Holloway, Vizard, debutant Henry Sheppard and the Paget brothers.  Excellent hands from Hiscock found Devizes skipper Lewis Paget 10 metres from the Chippenham line.  In finding a hole in the Chippenham defence the Devizes second row brought the scores to 28-26 with the extras added.  From the restart, Devizes couldn’t establish territory to get them up the pitch and into Chippenham’s half and as a result left Allington Fields with a narrow but hard fought defeat.

This was a great game to watch, with both sides playing some really good rugby on the hard and fast AGP.  A huge credit to the young Devizes side, who had four players from the Academy U18’s in the squad and putting in some really excellent shifts.  Thanks to Chippenham for the hospitality and the great game – thanks to the referee too who had an excellent game, keeping the game flowing between two high paced sides.

Saddleback faithful’s Man of the Match:  Charlie Paget

Try Scorers: Matt Strong, Charlie Paget, Ryan Webb, Lewis Paget