Wells cut the gap after harsh words

Minehead Barbarians 0 Wells 55

A few short, sharp words from coach Peter Kennedy at the break turned a competent first-half display by Wells into a brilliant one in the second period as they cut the gap to Somerset Premier leaders Avon to just three points.

Minehead is never the easiest of places to visit but within five minutes Wells had taken the lead when a catch and drive at a lineout saw Robbie Wiseman get the first of his three tries.

The home side were no pushovers, however, and strong defence kept the visitors at bay. Wells suffered a blow when scrum-half Jake Knight limped off, his brother Ben moving from the back row to replace him and giving a competent display.

The visitors increased their lead soon after the switch when Lewis Cohen touched down. A prepared move then saw Wells draw all the defenders to one side and, from the scrum, Wiseman and Ben Knight put Ed Manders into space to race home as the visitors led 15-0 at the break.

Wells went into the second half with their coach's words ringing in their ears and they quickly moved up a gear. Now dominant in the scrum and lineout, they dazzled and bamboozled with sleight of hand passes.

Pace and support were there in abundance and only in the early periods did heroic defence keep them at bay. Aaron Cook opened the second-half floodgates, however, before Dave Wheatley was given space out on the left to cross.

Manders then got his second score of the day with a training ground try, coming at pace into the second receiver's position. Wiseman got his second touchdown before Alex Knight crossed after a searing burst got him to within feet of the line before the forwards pushed him over.

Wiseman completed the try scoring and his hat-trick late on, with Cook adding five conversions as the visitors once again failed to concede a point.

With a game still in hand on the leaders, the title now looks to be a straight fight between Wells and Avon. On Saturday, Wells host Nailsea & Backwell, the seconds travel to Wiveliscombe and the thirds make the short trip to Tor.

Wells 2nd 17 Old Sulians 12

Wells seconds continued their fight to beat the drop in Tribute Somerset 1 with victory against a team who had previously ran in 70 points against them.

In conditions that were wet and heavy under foot, Wells started the game brightly and spent the first 30 minutes of the contest in the opposition's half.

With the lineout functioning well, Seb Gribber was able to break loose from a driving maul and give the home side the lead before Liam White obliged with a well-placed kick for the extras.

Wells did not rest on their laurels and once again found themselves camped in the Sulians' 22 for a sustained period. After several solid phases from the Wells pack, returning centre Jake Smith was able to take advantage to extend Wells' lead. White converted and, with the last play of the half, gave Wells a 17-0 lead with a well-taken penalty.

The second half was spent mostly in the Wells 22, as the struggling city side were forced to defend for the majority of the 40 minutes. Sulians started to claw themselves back into the game with two tries, one of which was converted, as the hosts led by just five points with 20 minutes remaining.

The visitors mounted relentless attacks in the closing stages but Wells, despite being down to 14 following the sin-binning of Carl Harpin, held firm and defended superbly.

The introduction of Craig Barrow helped to shut up shop for the remaining period as Wells survived to secure a deserved victory.