Debutant Anthony Gibson made history less than ten minutes into his first ever game of senior rugby by becoming the first try scorer at Skew Bridge, the new home ground of South Wilts Barbarians RFC.
The lashing rain during the build up to the fixture could not dampen the mood as a new era began for the club formerly known as Salisbury Barbarian Exiles RFC. The rain cleared in time for the kick off. The home side, resplendent in a new bright red kit, sponsored by www.xtremerugby.com got the game under way playing towards the Church end.
Early pressure from the home forwards, led by new skipper Zak Thorpe at Number 8, meant that play was kept in the Pewsey half for the opening minutes and the Barbarians supporters thought they had got the moment they had been waiting for when Ben Coombes crossed near the right corner flag however the referee disallowed the try due to a forward pass. South Wilts were not to be denied for long however. Centre Michael Roberts charged down a clearing kick on the five meter line and the rest of the backs spread the ball left to Gibson who evaded two tackles with dazzling acceleration before getting the ball down in the corner.
Minutes later a tap penalty ten yards out was passed to open-side George Dicker who powered through the visiting defenders to double the advantage. Roberts added the extras before scoring a try of his own to take the score to 17-0 at half time.
Having been denied in the first half, Ben Coombes got his name on the score sheet early in the second having switched to his more familiar left wing position.
Pewsey’s forwards started to get on top throughout the second half and a long spell of pressure led to their try half way through the half. South Wilts stepped up however with impressive work from loose-head Tom Prutz and lock Ben Spragg. The fifth and final try capped an impressive debut for scrum-half David Hanson.
The league season gets under way at Skew Bridge next Saturday when Westbury are the visitors for a 14:15 kick off. The club are hoping that the new ground will prove popular with visitors and supporters alike and look forward to welcoming new fans in the bar after the game. Further details can be found at www.sberfc.typepad.co.uk.
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