Old Patesians - 20
Chippenham - 41
Old Patesians performance at the Allington Fields was desperately disappointing and they were well beaten by Chippenham in National League Three SouthWest.
On a bitterly cold, finger numbing afternoon Pats had travelled with the confidence of chalking up their first double of the season as they had comfortably crushed Chippenham at home in September by 54 points to 27 points.
Their aspirations were soon dashed as they were under pressure from the kick-off and, before they had settled, had gifted their hosts three silly penalties and were then pushed off their own scrum feed. Chippenham blindside flanker Tom Baldwin seized his chance to pick up and break clear from the ruptured Pats scrum and trundled over for a try in the corner converted by full back Sam Saunders.
Pats early woes at this reversal were then compounded by a nasty injury to their major impact player, Number Eight James Pettigrew. The young man has always declined to wear a mouthguard and perhaps the serious lacerations to his lips and tongue caused by his own teeth may consider him to change his mind when he returns to the fray.
Henry Tapsell replaced Pettigrew and when Pats regrouped, he and flanker Ben Walsh proved to be particularly effective with route one carries making the hard yards and handing out smothering all-embracing tackles as they tried to take the sting out of Chippenham who were well pleased with their good start.
Pats tight five forwards erased the early humiliation of being driven off their own ball and for the remainder of the game put on a master class of rock solid scrummaging with a clean quick channel allowing scrum half Darren Moore time and space aplenty to release his back division.
With quality line-out ball assured from second row forwards Rob Fidler and Gethin Evans Pats had oodles of possession from the set pieces but their three-quarters just failed to click in the midfield or the flanks and rarely crossed the gain line.
Fly half Rob Nock, reluctantly recalled to the first team at the age of forty, can be excused for being off the pace of the intensity of the game at this level and his pop passes to centres Lotti Molitika and Stu Taylor left them little room to operate. They were too often concertinaed together and then isolated and vulnerable to pincer hits from their centre counterparts and the marauding Chippenham breakaway forwards.
Pats just looked out of sorts and haemorrhaged shedloads of unforced errors but still, somehow, had territorial advantage for most of the first half.
Chippenham played a waiting game, were patient and when the Pats were penalised within Saunders range of the posts he punished them with a penalty goal.
Pats responded with a surging drive and the ball recycled through ten phases right up to the Chippenham goal line but their only reward was a penalty goal for winger James Butler.
Chippenham fly half Rupert Crockett fluffed the restart with a drop-out that went straight into touch. Pats took the turnover scrum on the halfway line but it was symptomatic of their afternoon that as Moore collected at the base of the scrum his back row mates were pinged for obstruction and crossing.
Whilst the Pats were still musing over the strange decision Chippenham remained focused and winger Ryan Surry danced clear for a try in the right hand corner.
Pats gargantuan forwards efforts were eventually rewarded when they sucked in the defence with a mighty drive and Butler screamed through a hole in the midfield for a try between the posts. He added the conversion but Chippenham led by 15 points to 10 points at the break.
Chippenham pulled off a psychological coup at the interval when they dashed to their warm changing room for tea, maybe a hot water bottle and a chat. Pats were left out in a teeth-chattering huddle and the referee took far too long to send his touch judge to order the return of the miscreants to the field of play.
Pats were deservedly riled by this act of discourtesy and piled into their hosts with Walsh and prop James King leading the way with strength and controlled ferocity. Chippenham wilted and Butler closed the scoreline to within two points with a penalty goal.
Chippenham lost Baldwin and Pats lost hooker Rob White to the sin bin for fighting and thereafter the home team swept aside the Pats challenge who just carried on racking up error after error and seemed to lose all idea of a game plan and more importantly belief in themselves.
Chippenham added tries through Crockett, second row Adie Price, skipper Bobby Lyons and a second for Surry. Saunders hoofed over three conversions.
Pats forwards did have the last laugh when they were awarded a penalty try when the Chippenham pack folded for the umpteenth time. Butler drop kicked the conversion to close out the game and Chippenham had won by a mile without playing anything like good rugby.
Man of the Match: Chippenham right wing, with 2 tries – Ryan Surry
By Bob Ellis
