ALL GOLDS TAKE FIRST WIN IN LAST MINUTE DRAMA
BRISTOL ALL GOLDS 30 – 28 LONDON CHARGERS
Christopher Wilson at Lockleaze Sports Centre, Bristol
SUMMARY
Three converted tries in ten minutes swung this game decisively in the Bristol All Golds’ favour but they had to wait until the Chargers missed a last-minute conversion to celebrate their first win of the season.
After a bright start when Luke Davies opened the scoring on debut, errors and ill-discipline allowed the Chargers to build a 14-4 lead they held at the break.
Callum Merrett set up a try for full-back James Boyles early in the second period but the ten minutes that the Chargers’ Will Buckingham spent in the sin bin proved crucial as Tom Baxter crashed over and Merrett set up tries for Boyles and centre Henry Symons and the All Golds led 28-14 when he returned.
A Merrett penalty proved decisive as the Chargers tried to get back in the game scoring three tries but crucially only converting one, and when the final kick failed to bisect the posts, the All Golds could celebrate their first victory in 2025.
FULL REPORT
The Bristol All Golds secured a first win of the season to begin their ten-year tenure at Lockleaze Sports Centre in the best possible fashion as they held on to beat London Chargers 30-28 in a game which went right down to the wire.
The sunny but blustery conditions made goal-kicking, particularly from wide positions, extremely difficult, and with most of his six kicks being from those positions, Chargers’ scrum half, Isaac Greene, only manged two successes. In contrast, his opposite number Callum Merrett’s efforts were from much nearer the posts and he was able to convert five of his six attempts.
The wind was not the only factor affecting the result. The sin-binning of Will Buckingham after 53 minutes with the Chargers leading 14-10 was crucial as, when he returned, his side was 28-14 down and the All Golds had a lead they clung on to despite two late Chargers’ tries.
The game started poorly for the All Golds as they conceded back-to-back penalties allowing the Chargers to move easily upfield. However, the home defence held out despite losing prop Ed Tait after less than five minutes’ play with what looked like a bad leg injury.
The All Golds settled into the game and Tait’s replacement, Tom Baxter was denied a score after the referee ruled an illegal ball steal. Soon afterwards, however, Merrett successfully stole the ball from a Chargers player and quick hands saw Louis Birch send Luke Davies in for a debut score.
Unfortunately, the lead didn’t last long. The All Golds knocked on from the kick off and Josh Catlett levelled the scores with an unconverted try.
The Chargers settled down and dominated possession and field position. Their next attack saw Doug Chirnside make a superb break through the middle with the set ending with Ope Okuboyejo touching down, Greene’s goal giving the visitors a 10-4 lead.
It was nip and tuck for the next few minutes with the bounce of the ball just eluding Leon Atherton in the corner for the home side. The Chargers however, made the most of their attacking positions and with the benefit of a six-again late in the tackle count, good offloading on the All Golds’ line ended with Greene touching down.
There was no further scoring in the last 15 minutes of the first half and the Chargers took a 14-4 lead into the break.
Despite dropping the ball from the restart, it was the All Golds that posted first points in the second period.
Merrett stole into the Chargers line and poached an interception just inside his own half. Looking for options, he saw James Boyles in support and cross-kicked for the full-back to chase. Boyles did well to gather the bouncing ball cleanly and ground it for a superb try that Merrett goaled.
The Chargers replied with an attack of their own, but Atherton was able to guide Okuboyejo into touch in the corner. After that, the visitors’ discipline left them, and they conceded a series of repeat sets and penalties that ended with Will Buckingham being shown a yellow card for denying Henry Symons a try from an offside position.
It didn’t take long for the All Golds to profit from their extra man and Baxter powered over the whitewash. Merrett added the goal to put the All Golds 16-14 in front.
Five minutes later, straight from a scrum, Merrett kicked long for Boyles to show his speed again. This time the full-back had to kick the ball on before touching down inches from the dead-ball line.
The Chargers’ ill-discipline then gifted the All Golds field position and Merrett’s wide pass gave Symons the space to beat three men to score. Merrett’s goal extended the lead to 28-14 as Buckingham came back onto the field.
The Chargers immediately got back into the game as Catlett crossed for his second try goaled by Greene but the All Golds immediately extended their advantage with a penalty after Merrett’s restart bounced through the in-goal and the Chargers booted the subsequent goal-line dropout out of play on the full.
Trailing 30-20, the Chargers pressed in the final ten minutes for the two converted tries they required and, with five minutes left, former Gloucestershire All Gold, Malikhi Lloyd-Jones, forced his way over out wide.
Crucially, the try went unconverted, and the best they could hope for would now be a draw. After desperate Bristol defence held Chirnside up on the line, Joe Briggs crashed over on the last play of the game. Greene’s conversion would decide whether the game would be a draw or an All Golds win.
There were huge cheers from the All Golds as the kick drifted wide of the posts and the referee blew time on a really entertaining game.
Having faced two of last season’s top three already in their three games this season, the All Golds travel next week to champions for the last two years Hammersmith Hills Hoists for what is sure to be a tough encounter.
MatchStats
Teams:
ALL GOLDS: James Boyles; Leon Atherton, Luke Davies, Henry Symons, Joe Capener; Jack Uren, Callum Merrett (Capt); Ed Tait, Adam Turner, Carl Thompson; Louis Birch, Tega Rume-Tabiowo; Mike Ward: INTERCHANGE: Eric Davidson, Brandon Lamb, Rob Davies, Tom Baxter.
Scorers:
Tries: L. Davies (11), Boyles (46, 59), Baxter (54), Symons (62)
Goals: Merrett 5 from 6
CHARGERS: Will Buckingham; Joseph Jacobs, Robert Cannons, Harry Normington, Ope Okuboyejo; Eric Sims, Isaac Greene; Sam Felkin, Doug Chirnside (Capt), Malikhi Lloyd-Jones; Josh Catlett, Jonathon Allen; Charlie Whittington. INTERCHANGE: Elliott Stockdale, Joseph Briggs, Calum Linton, Ciaran Mylod.
SCORERS
Tries: Catlett (14, 65), Okuboyejo (17), Greene (25), Lloyd-Jones (75), Briggs (79).
Goals: Greene 2 from 6
Scoring sequence: 4-0, 4-4, 4-10, 4-14, (HT), 10-14, 16-14, 22-14, 28-14, 28-20, 30-20, 30-24, 30-28, (FT)
Penalties: All Golds 7-9 Chargers
Sin Bin: Buckingham (Chargers 53min)
Referee: Malcolm Holmes (RFL)
All Golds Player of the Match: Coming off the bench early in the game after Ed Tait’s injury, Tom Baxter’s powerful running helped to put the All Golds on the front foot and his close-range try helped the All Golds gain the crucial momentum to build a winning lead.