FAIRFORD Rugby maintained momentum in their debut season in Wadworth Gloucester 1, recording a 34-25 home win over Tewkesbury on Saturday afternoon.
Mike Wrona scored twice for the hosts, who finished the game with 13 due to ill-discipline, but a late score was enough to put the game beyond reach.
It was Tewkesbury who made the first dent on the home defence, touching down in the corner for an unconverted early score. Fly-half Ben Cohoon then added the extras to a penalty try after sustained pressure from the Badgers before Tewkesbury responded with another score of their own to edge in front 10-7.
Wrona then scored the first of his two tries, ghosting through the middle after a well-worked backs move with Cohoon again applying the extras with the boot. Tewkesbury rallied – building pressure with a penalty – before another score out wide gave them an 18-14 advantage.
Fairford remained unbowed and a quickfire start to the second period saw Jake Summers cross the whitewash for a well-taken try to regain control of the scoreboard. Wrona followed this up with his second try of the afternoon, taking man and ball over the line for a typically bullish finish to make it 24-18. A penalty from Cohoon extended a lead that would prove to be a critical cushion ahead of three unwelcome trips to the sin-bin for the hosts with Jake Page-Maskell, Josh Bennett and Bobby Tilling all taking time out.
The visitors’ took advantage of their numerical superiority, scoring under the posts with a two-man advantage to reduce the arrears to 27-25 with just minutes remaining. However, a timely interception from Cohoon put an end to any hopes of a Tewkesbury comeback as he fed Robbie Dalgleish to canter under the posts for a converted score and a 34-25 victory.
The win leaves Fairford third in the table with 18 points from five games played going into Saturday’s home fixture with Gloucester Old Boys.