Taunton RFC 3 - 23 Cheltenham

Taunton's hopes of a trip to Twickenham in the Spring were snuffed out at a bitterly cold Hyde Park last Saturday.

The rearranged third round EDF Intermediate Cup tie, a victim of earlier bad weather, promised the victors an away day at Staines and distant thoughts of H.Q. glory.

But it was not to be. Cheltenham were sharper all round and would probably have won without a number of dubious refereeing decisions in their favour.

It's par for the course for losing supporters to have a gripe at the poor old official but, it must be said, complaints were more often justified than not. Some rulings were, to be kind, shrouded in mystery; others just patently wrong.

Having got that off the chest, now to the action.

Taunton barely laid a hand on the ball in the first 5 minutes at the end of which Andy Nicholls scored in the corner; the hosts came back strongly but lost their own lineout close to the Cheltenham try line and their first scrummage also produced nothing.

Taunton's fly half Jon Martin missed two penalties he would normally have slotted blindfold before he finally landed one on 35 minutes.

Soon after the restart kick came what would be the game's turning point. A pop pass in midfield found nobody at home but two opponents who couldn't believe their luck. Matt Mudway scored near the posts but the kick failed.

Taunton had plenty of chances in the first half but their much changed back division couldn't get points on the board. The pack was also under pressure in all phases which showed in the quality of possession.

From a home perspective, the second session is one to forget. Martin missed a penalty from in front of the posts. James Butler eventually landed two after missing one and Taunton were chasing a lost cause.

The final indignity came when the Devon referee, having sin binned Cheltenham's James McMahon for collapsing a lineout drive, ignored a second collapse and subsequent hands in the ruck to give the visitors a penalty instead of a Taunton penalty try.

He then had a full and frank exchange of words with Taunton's player coach Danny Thomas and again produced his yellow card.

To add insult to injury, Taunton switched off as Cheltenham broke out to finish the match with an Alan Bryan try under the posts which Butler converted.

A ray of festive sunshine did come from the adjoining Serpentine pitch where Taunton Wanderers comfortably defeated Midsomer Norton IV (Veterans) - Taunton's evergreen prop, Rev. Vince Carrington of Taunton Congregational Church scored his first try of the season, a sprint from all of 5 yards…

Bill Luckett