Quick starters Blues run them in

Chippenham left back-pedaling from the start as hosts run in the tries

Newbury Blues 64 Chippenham 10

IT was sparks from the start of both halves as Blues recorded their biggest win of the season to flay struggling Chippenham.

A try up in 80 seconds, they posted a comfortable 21-3 by half-time before scoring again only 44 seconds after the re-start and going on to enjoy a romp to the points.

“The performance was exceptional,” said head coach Lee Goodall. “The boys played with confidence. We said it is going click one day and when it clicks, it’s going to be good.

“And it clicked today.”

Blus had a pre-match blow when Alex Millar damaged a calf muscle during the warm-up, but any thoughts of it being a bad omen were shaken off when Blues scored after those 80 seconds when Chris Guyatt was sent in under the posts, Dan Thorne adding the conversion and two penalties on his way to a 21 point haul.

Tony Thorne was to run in a hat-trick of tries, his first after Harry Taylor had got Chippenham onto the scoreboard with a penalty as Blues reached the interval with a 21-3 lead that did not reflect their control.

After the break however, the tries rained down with Toby Pearce racing home after 44 seconds to open a spate of superbly crafted scores as Kyle Doel, Josh Love, Joe Pigott, Tony Thorne twice and finally Iain Herriott all getting onto the scoresheet, Sam Saunders driving over for a Chippenham consolation converted by Taylor towards the end.

Leaders Maidenhead got home 37-25 against Grove to set up what could be a titanic tussle at Monks Llane on October 29.

Newbury Blues: T. Thorne; Walker, Herriott, Love, Pearce; D. Thorne, Pigott; Hicks, Drysdale, Macauley; Bastable, Doel; Guyatt, Davis, Jones, Subs: D. Stewart, G. Stewart, Richardson.