MATCH REPORT: Gordano 8, Chew Valley 16
Chew Valley completed the double and claimed the first cup win in the club's history as they beat Gordano in the Somerset Vase final.
Gordano pushed them all the way at Weston-super-Mare RFC and for much of the first half it seemed that the experience in the league encounter was repeated as Chew fell foul of the interpretation of the laws at the breakdown, allowing their opponents to enjoy plenty of territorial advantage.
The league champions stuttered with uncharacteristic errors and poor decision making, while Gordano clearly had a game plan, involving Joe Rowsell operating at inside centre, pushing the ball to the corners, and a combative display from his back row of Worgan, Wilson and Statton.
Gordano earned a series of penalties, one of which was converted by Rowsell, but Chew responded when Alex Cameron also kicked a penalty on a rare Chew foray forward. Rowsell missed the chance to restore Gordano's lead as he scuffed his effort wide.
The game could have hinged on two yellow cards in the first half as Chew centre Scott Eggleton went off with a technical offence committed in the Gordano half, while fellow centre Andy McCormack was sin-binned for tackling a man without the ball.
Rowsell hit a post with his next penalty effort and it was not until four minutes into the second half that the two-man advantage was made to pay as hooker Matt Stevens crossed for a try.
However, Chew used their powerful bench to good effect and began to see more of the ball. A searing break by full-back Tom Bryan took the ball to the corner and a quickly-taken penalty by man of the match Darren Jefferies saw the number eight power over the line for a critical try, which Cameron converted.
That score seemed to deflate Gordano, who had previously been beaten home and away by their opponents in the league, and Chew finally began to deliver the rugby that their loyal supporters had come to expect.
Pressure on the Gordano line saw Stevens sin-binned for an offence at a ruck, from which Cameron kicked the penalty to give his side a five-point cushion.
Guy Winter, on at outside-half, provided the calming influence and direction his side needed to close out the game. His move into the pocket as his pack ground forward with a series of pick-and-drives allowed him to send an excellent drop goal through the posts from 22 metres.
It was a nervous end to the season for Tom Waddington and his team but coaches Paul Hull and Bruce Wellman can look forward to entering Western Counties North as Somerset Vase champions next season.
