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Click here to see last season's writeups.
| North Dorset IV - 14th April 2007 |
Bath Saracens 106 North Dorset IV 7 Bath Saracens signed off the league season in style with a century against their Dorset & Wilts West opponents. Played on a wide, rock hard pitch in mid summer temperatures, Sarries took every opportunity to throw the ball around and this resulted in 16 Tries. Fly half Simon Harrison led the way with 4 tries, number 8 Mike Greevy, full back Dan Nicolls and scrum half John Catchpole each added a brace. Further tries were scored by flankers Ben Parrett & Robbie Lawrence, centres Dave Abrahams & Andy Powell, winger Dom Farris and lock John Edwards. 13 conversions were added by Farris (6), Nicolls (3), Harrison, Tony Milne, Tony Lai, and Martin Ellis to complete the rout. Sarries set off on their annual tour next weekend. Staying in Torquay they play Dartmouth RFC on the Saturday and Blakes Bears of Bridgewater on the Sunday. Their end of season club dinner will be held at Bath Rugby Club on Friday 11th May. Rob L. |
| Bristol Telephones - 24th March 2007 |
Bath Saracens 34 Bristol Telephones 20 Sarries continued their recent good form with a hard fought win in this annual fixture against their Gloucester league visitors. The Sarries pack battled well against their 'much larger' opponents and the backs made good use of possession and ran in 6 tries. It's back to league business next week with a tricky away fixture at Salisbury Exiles. Success here could see Sarries take their challenge for the Dorset/Wilts league title to the last week of the season. Rob L. |
| Avonvale - 17th March 2007 | Bath Saracens 57 Avonvale 10 Bath Saracens secured runners up spot in the Dorset/Wilts West league in style with this 'derby day' demolition of their local rivals. Played in almost perfect conditions in front of the club's Vice Presidents, Sarries took every opportunity to spin the ball wide and this resulted in 9 tries and 6 conversions. With Corsham's surprise defeat to Trowbridge, the top spot is not out of reach. Wins in the last two games could yet see Sarries snatch the league title as Corsham have to play the 3rd & 4th placed sides. Rob L. |
| Combe Down 2nds - 3rd March 2007 |
Bath Saracens 31 Combe Down 12 A great performance from a 7 man pack and some excellent finishing by their backs saw 2nd place Bath Saracens secure a home win over 3rd place Combe Down. Sarries stormed in to a 26 - 7 lead before the game boiled over and after an ugly incident a Sarries forward was sent off. The Sarries pack had already been under pressure from the visitors bigger pack and they were now struggling in the scrums. The scores stayed the same until half time but early in the 2nd half Combe Down scored a push over try from a 5 yard scrum. At this stage the Downers looked odds on to come back and win the game, but a 5th try from the Sarries and some great defending saw the hosts grab the vital 2 league points. Sarries now need just 1 win from their remaining 3 league games to secure the runners up spot. Rob L. |
| Bradford on Avon 2nds - 13th January 2007 |
Bath Saracens 18 Bradford on Avon 2nds 10 Click here to see some photos. Bath Saracens picked up where they left off before Christmas with a home win in the Dorset/Wilts West league, all be it looking a bit rusty due to lack of games in recent weeks. Sarries started well and good early pressure resulted in a penalty which was converted by Fly Half Dom Farris. Simon Harrison then scored a try after a good move in the backs and shortly after almost added a second but he was stopped by a superb tackle just short of the line. Sarries clearly had the upper hand and late in the half centre Josh Lenthall put them further in front after some good work by the forwards. Farris added the conversion and Sarries finished the half with a 15-0 advantage. Playing with the elements in the second half Bradford started putting more pressure on the Sarries defence and crossed the line for their first points of the game. Sarries hit back with another Farris penalty before Bradford added a second try from a well-worked line out. There were no further scores and Sarries were happy to walk away with their first win of 2007. Rob L. |
| Salisbury Exiles - 16th December 2006 |
Bath Saracens 41 Salisbury Exiles 10 Click here to see some photos. Bath Saracens, currently in 2nd place in Dorset/Wilts West, ran in 7 tries in this convincing win over their 3rd placed opponents. This was the annual VP's day and plenty of familiar faces gathered on the touch line to be entertained by another excellent Sarries performance. With a number of regular players out injured it was good to see the return of Craig Gwillam in the back row and Ed Bell at centre. Both had excellent games. Winger Andy Powell opened the scoring and this was followed by a try by Fly Half Josh Lenthall after an individual kick and chase. Lenthall added a conversion for an early 12-0 lead. Sarries then conceded 2 tries to the Exiles with some slack defending to lead by just 2 points at half time. The second half was a different story with Winger Andy Powell scoring his second try within a minute of the restart. It was then one way traffic with Sarries scoring a further 4 tries through Scrum Half John Catchpole (2), Flanker Chris Carmichael and Full Back Dan Nicholls. Lenthall added 2 more conversions. Sarries finish the first half of their league season with 8 wins out of 9. Robbie Lawrence and Bren Hodkinson, currently amongst the injured players, both put their time to good use by serving up mulled wine and mince pies at the half time break. The mulled wine went down particularly well (probably due to the whole bottle of brandy which had been slipped in during the important tasting process). After the match the entertainment continued in the bar. Highlights included the Xmas draw where last year's captain Tudor Croft scooped the first prize of £100. Other notable prizewinners included Rich Cope who collected a large fluffy bunny on behalf of a member of Combe Down RFC! The players and VP's were also entertained by Tony Lai who once again demonstrated his remarkable ability to down a pint in 0.00001 of a second (at least, that's what it seemed like!). The drinking party then continued around the pubs and clubs of the city centre and celebrations continued into the small hours. Dan Nicholls entertained us with his expertise on the dance floor, Dom Farris with a professional display of 'tonsil tickling' (what was her name Dom?) and Lance Martin as usual took every opportunity to display his flashing 'vertical smile'!! There was last minute effort to conclude the festivities with a curry in the Pria restaurant, noted for its willingness to serve up a meal well after 2AM. Unfortunately on this occasion when our vociferous party approached the front window the closed sign went up. This was a sad ending and we headed for the nearest Kebab house to reflect on what might have been! Once again a good day for the club both on and off the pitch. It was great to see so many familiar faces and a fitting way to end a really good year. Lets make 2007 just as successful! Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to all. Rob L. |
| Westbury 2nds - 4th November 2006 |
Bath Saracens "walk over" With a strong squad of 25 players, Sarries were looking forward to their 5th consecutive league win. Unfortunately minutes before kick off it was confirmed that they had been awarded a 'walk over' as Westbury were unable to field a side and the match was cancelled. Sarries had to make do with an extra training session followed by the Wales v Australia international on TV in the bar. The visitors food didn't go to waste and finished off second best to a Saracens onslaught, led by scrum half JC Catchpole and fly half Dom Farris. Hooker Robbie Lawrence was sent off late in the evening after an ugly incident with a large chicken and shish keebab. Several players picked up injuries falling over their tongues in a local night club and will face fitness tests before next week's league fixture away to Bradford on Avon. Rob L. |
| Old Morganians - 28th October 2006 |
Bath Saracens 73 Morganians 14 With changes to the league structure both teams were keen to keep this long running fixture going as a friendly. The Sarries pack performed well and fed plenty of ball to the backs who ran in 11 tries. Centre Josh Lenthall led the way with 5 and Full back Dan Nicholls grabbed a hat trick. Other try scorers were Fly half Dom Farris, Flanker Chris Carmichael, and Prop Ross Adamson who popped up on the wing and dummied his way to the line for the final try. Farris added 9 conversions. Man of the match went to Ross Adamson. Rob L. |
| Trowbridge 3rds - 21st October 2006 |
TROWBRIDGE 12 BATH SARACENS 13 Sarries found it hard going in this Dorset/Wilts West league fixture but they managed to emerge with their 100% record intact. A side hastily rearranged due to last minute 'cry offs' and a difficult pitch didn't help. Sarries however started brightly enough with Trowbridge rarely getting over the half way line. Midway through the first half Sarries took the lead with a try from centre Andy Powell, converted by fly half Dom Farris. Early in the second half a Farris penalty made it 10-0. Trowbridge then hit back with a converted try from a line-out deep in the Sarries half. Sarries replied with another Farris penalty before Trowbridge closed the gap to 1 point with their second try. Sarries then raised their game in the last quarter and managed to play out most of the final minutes in the Trowbridge half to take the 2 points. Rob L. |
| Frome 3rds - 14th October 2006 |
BATH SARACENS 15 FROME 5 Bath Saracens made it 3 out of 3 in the Dorset Wilts West league in this early season top of table clash. Once again Sarries fielded a small pack which performed well against much bigger opponents. Flanker Dan Marshall was brought in at tight head prop and had an outstanding game. Sarries turned around at half time leading 15-0 with tries from winger Will James and fly half Dom Farris who added a penalty and a conversion. Frome upped their game in the 2nd half but could only manage an unconverted try for their efforts. The Sarries defence was excellent and they deserved their third successive victory. Rob L. |
| Combe Down 2nds - 30th September 2006 |
Combe Down 2nds 28 Bath Saracens 39 Bath Saracens won away from home for the 2nd week running in this Dorset Wilts West league fixture. Combe Down got off to a great start with a converted try in the first minute. Sarries then hit back with a try from full back Dan Nicholls before Combe Down went back into a 14-5 lead with a second converted try. As half time approached Sarries small and mobile pack was winnning a lot of ball and in a 10 minute blitz they scored 4 tries through fly half Dom Farris, scrum half John Catchpole, centre Simon Harrison and winger Andy Powell. Farris added 2 conversions and at half time Sarries led 29-14. Minutes into the 2nd half Sarries picked up where they left off and scored their best try of the game. Scrum half Catchpole finished off a great move between the forwards and backs. Farris added the conversion. Mid way through the 2nd half the game swung again. With Sarries in a commanding position their open side flanker was sin binned and a change of personnel in the Combe Down forwards saw their pack take control. 2 converted tries in quick succession saw Combe Down close the gap to 36-28. Farris kicked a long range penalty in the last minutes of the game to give Sarries a bit of breathing space and they held on for a well deserved win. Rob L. |
| Avonvale - 23rd September 2006 |
Avonvale 7 Bath Saracens 43 Bath Saracens got their Dorset and Wilts league campaign off to a great start with an away win in their local derby with neighbours Avonvale. Both teams moved across from the Somerset league this season to ensure more league fixtures. New captain Dan Nicholls led the way with 2 tries, other try scorers were Scrum Half John Catchpole, Winger Andy Powell, Centre Simon Harrison and 1 each from Back Rows Andy Blackburn and Paul Blankley. Skippy Salisbury added 3 Conversions with a further conversion from Tudor Croft. Avonvale battled away to the end of the game. and thoroughly deserved their consolation try. Rob L. |
| Start of season - 2006/2007
Text from the Bath Chronicle Rugby supplement 29th August 2006. See the photo here. |
BATH Saracens take a step into the unknown this season after taking the decision to switch from the Somerset County league structure across the border to the Dorset & Wilts union's leagues. Sarries, who missed out on promotion narrowly last winter after they finished third behind Bath Old Edwardians and Somerton in the old Somerset 2 table, will play in the Dorset & Wilts 3 West division this term. But as fixture secretary Rob Lawrence explained, that was not cut and dried until fairly recently. "We took the decision as a club some time ago that we would be better served by a switch into the broader Dorset & Wilts leagues because we would get more regular fIxtures and have less travelling to do," he said. "Then the picture in Somerset changed with the county expanding its league structure after taking notice of the pressure from clubs which wanted to get their 2nd and 3rd XVs into regular league rugby. "By the time the Somerset union revamped their structure and set up lower leagues on a geographical basis, which would have suited us as it turned out, we were already committed to switching to Dorset & Wilts. "It's a done deal now and we're looking forward to a new challenge which has revived everybody's enthusiasm ahead of the new season." This season, Sarries will renew competitive hostilities with Bathford-based Avonvale, who have joined them in Dorset & Wilts 3 West - a league which also includes 2nd or 3rd XVs from Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge, Corsham, Combe Down, Westbury, Frome and North Dorset. Their longest away trip takes them to North Dorset's Gillingham base and the division features a catalogue of local derbies - two of them against Bath-based opposition and matches against West Wilts-based teams. "There will be an element of the unknown in the new divisional structure because it will take a couple of seasons for teams to find their natural level," said Lawrence. "There's a very good chance that some teams, us among them possibly, will find themselves out of their depth against 2nd XVs from the bigger clubs and there may be one or two teams in the division who are far stronger than the rest. "But it'll be a refreshing change for us as a club and we'll be looking to build on a decent showing last season, when we missed out on a promotion place, which we would probably have declined anyway, in Somerset 1. "The final league table showed us in third place on points difference, but we'll always claim we finished joint second. "As for the coming season, we intend to compete hard and see how it unfolds, We're looking forward to a good, hard, competitive campaign." |