Smiths United bounce back with home win

Smiths United scored six tries in a 38-22 defeat of Ledbury 2nd XV at the Prince of Wales Stadium.

Racing into a 19-0 lead, Smiths led from the start but didn't have things their own way as Ledbury fought gamely throughout.

A period of loose play saw the gap narrow to 24-15 but another burst of free-flowing rugby saw the home side stretch out to 38-15 and put the game out of reach of the visitors.

A final push from Ledbury saw them get a score as the game wound down but Smiths completed another league double for the season.

Scores came from centre Ben Sheldrake x2, lock Christian White, wing Brad White, hooker Charlie Davies and full back Jack Birks. Man of the match Tom Foster carried hard, was strong in defence and ran a well-oiled lineout for Smiths.

1st team disappointed with defeat by the barest of margins 

Smiths 1st XV travelled to Frampton Cotterell knowing a tough fixture awaited after winning 10-5 in the reverse fixture in November.

A real nail-biter ensued with Frampton twice scoring only for centre Pete Reed to score and draw level at 7-7 then 14-14.  

Into the 2nd half Smiths took the lead for the first time through a try from wing Luke Cador. 14-19. Frampton hit back to regain the lead at 21-19.

Injuries to the whole Smiths back row disrupted plans as the 2nd period continued but a penalty kick saw the visitors go back in front - 21-22. Frampton hit back yet again in the topsy-turvy contest, a converted try giving them a six point lead at 28-22 as the minutes ticked down.

Smiths found another effort with Cador scoring a second out wide. The difficult kick was missed but Smiths still had time on the clock to improve the 28-27 scoreline.

Frampton managed the final plays well though and Smiths were left to rue the chances they had across the match that they couldn't convert. Man of the match was lock Harry Jakes.

U15s show Smiths spirit in defeat

Smiths U15s latest assignment was a home fixture vs Coney Hill. Outgunned size-wise, Smiths were going to need to front up to be in a contest but they did just that, shocking Coney Hill into opting for 3 points as the home defence held firm in the early exchanges.

Smiths were first to score a try with a smoothly functioning driving maul causing problems all day. Hooker Harry Nelmes scoring at the back of their first drive for the line. Fly half Ed Skelding added the extras. Coney Hill came back into the game with a try of their own and ended the half with a 7-10 lead.

Pressure early from kick off led to a loose Smiths exit and after a clever kick through, Coney Hill won the race to the ball in the dead ball area to take their lead out to 7-17.

Another period of maul and pick and go pressure had Coney Hill on the back foot as Smiths showed guts to stay in the fight. Captain Nelmes again drove over from short range to get back in touch at 12-17.

Some basic mistakes saw Smiths put themselves under pressure and the visitors again elected to take 3 points to restore their two score advantage at 12-20.

The last play began with Smiths playing from their own 22m line as they kept pushing for a last score. A loose piece of play saw the final efforts break down and Coney Hill capitalised to finish 12-27 winners.

Smiths can be proud of the effort they put in and never took a backward step in a tough encounter.

With a break in seniors fixtures for round 5 of the Six Nations next weekend, the only Smiths fixture sees the U15s travel to Stow next Sunday for a friendly fixture.