County Classic: Somerset power to a 59-26 victory over Buckinghamshire
Somerset produced a dominant attacking display in Taunton to defeat Buckinghamshire 59-26 in a high-scoring county clash that swung dramatically at times before the hosts powered clear in the second half.
Report by Becca Hall
Somerset produced a dominant attacking display in Taunton to defeat Buckinghamshire 59-26 in a high-scoring county clash that swung dramatically at times before the hosts powered clear in the second half.
The home side wasted little time stamping their authority on the contest, getting their opening try just three minutes in after strong scrum work created the platform, try scored by Rory Murchison. The conversion was missed, but Somerset had an early 5-0 advantage.
Their aggressive start continued as a Buckinghamshire lineout was stolen before a turnover deep in opposition territory led directly to Somerset’s second try, scored by Sam Dearsley, with the captain Tom Weaver getting the conversion. Stretching their lead to 12-0.
Somerset’s set-piece dominance was already proving decisive. Another powerful scrum marched them onto the 22 before sustained pressure resulted in a third try after only 10 minutes, the conversion making it 19-0.
Buckinghamshire slowly began to settle into the game after the restart. Following a fleury of penalties and improved field position, the away side found themselves on the Somerset line, and after testing the defence repeatedly, they broke through for their opening score through Bailey Geudon, with the conversion by Will Baildon reducing the deficit to 19-7.
Momentum quickly shifted further towards the visitors when Buckinghamshire added a second converted try to suddenly make it a five-point game at 19-14.
The game then boiled over slightly when Somerset centre and try scorer, Sam Dearsley was shown a yellow card for obstruction after tripping Buckinghamshire’s Max Garrett, leaving the hosts temporarily down to 14 men.
Despite the setback, Somerset responded well. Their forwards earned penalties during the scrum before a strong attacking set-up allowed Oscar Browne to crash over the line just before half-time. The conversion restored breathing space at 26-14 heading into the break.
The second half begun scrappily, with handling errors and territorial kicking dominated the early exchanges. Somerset’s discipline again came under pressure when Rich Parish was yellow carded for deliberately slowing the ball down, reducing the hosts to 13 men.
Buckinghamshire took immediate advantage of this, as Sam Brown powered over the line before adding the conversion to narrow the gap to 26-21 and raise hopes of a comeback.
However, Somerset responded in emphatic fashion. Buckinghamshire errors handed possession back to the hosts and winger Noah Watts capitalised to score, although the difficult conversion was missed this time.
Moments later, Somerset were back to 14 men and immediately punished Buckinghamshire. Excellent work from Watts again, who created space for his teammate Dearsley – fresh out of the sin bin – to score, with the conversion extending the lead to 38-21.
From there, Somerset took complete control. Slick passing through the middle-carved Buckinghamshire wide open for another converted try from Sam Harrison to make it 45-21 entering the final quarter of the game.
Although the visitors briefly threatened and later added a try in the corner through James West, Somerset’s attack remained relentless. A brilliant break eventually sent full-back Henry Wright racing under the posts for another converted score.
The standout moment arrived late on in the match when Somerset’s Noah Watts produced a sensational full-length run before unselfishly passing to Stu Souch to finish it under the sticks, capping a thrilling attacking performance and taking the score to 59-26.
Buckinghamshire continued to battle until the final whistle and earned themselves a late attacking opportunity from a high-tackle penalty, but Somerset’s defence held firm to close out an entertaining a hard-fought victory.
FINAL SCORE: Somerset County Rugby 59-26 Buckinghamshire County Rugby
