Gazette Sport
RUGBY: Taunton beaten but unbowed
8:30pm Tuesday 21st February 2012
A SPIRITED Taunton side succumbed to a 6-37 defeat at the hands of well-organised promotion contenders Old Albanians at Hyde Park on Saturday.
There was a welcome return to Taunton colours for second row Marsh Cormack, having returned from Afghanistan on military duty, and captain Sean Fox on the bench following recovery from his shoulder injury.
The disciplined visitors enjoyed much of the possession and territory, forcing Taunton to defend valiantly for long periods, which to their credit, they did with gusto.
OAs pressed repeatedly, only to be thwarted by a rebellious Taunton putting their bodies on the line and working tirelessly at the breakdown to win a number of turnovers, much to the delight of the home crowd.
After 25 minutes of play OAs eventually opened the scoring through two penalties before adding a brace of converted tries.
Tony Yapp pulled a penalty back for Taunton on the stroke of half time to leave the score 3-18 at the interval.
The second half started as the first ended, with Taunton in the ascendancy having seen little of the ball until then.
The home side proved they could again live with anyone in the league and proved a challenge to contain at times, but the only score they had to show for their efforts was another Yapp penalty after 43 minutes.
A patient OAs side secured their bonus point try, which was converted, before adding a final unconverted score with the last action of the match to give the visitors a deserved but hard fought 6-37 victory.
To their credit Taunton fronted up in defence at every opportunity, and put in their most accomplished display at the scrum for months, getting the better of their opposition on a number of occasions.
There are many positives to take into the rearranged fixture away to Southend on Saturday, February 25.