MOUNT House 1st XV suffered a heavy midweek defeat against an outstanding XV from Sandroyd in Dorset, but this tough fixture against Somerset rivals King's Hall gave the XV a chance to bounce back.
The pack had much to prove as they had been comprehensively bettered in the earlier match. They responded to criticism with their best display of the season.
The forwards showed courage and determination to go to ground to win loose ball. This also had the effect of tying in the opposition defenders, thereby creating space on the outside for the threequarters.
Four first half tries were just reward for the XV's domination of possession and territory. Prop Chris Morris was driven over from a lineout, flanker Seb Jaques sidestepped his way over, while backs Tom Painter and Rory Oxenham outran the defence to score excellent tries.
The second half exposed a lack of fitness in the pack and poor defence ceded two soft tries to an increasingly effective King's Hall unit. But the home side regained the initiative with outstanding individual tries by Tom Painter (2) and Doug Love.
The final score, 41-10, leaves Mount House unbeaten against schools from Devon and Somerset.
In all, six sides played against King's Hall. The 2nd and 3rd XVs both experienced their first defeats of the season, while at U11 level, the Colts A team fought out a tough 0-0 draw, the Colts C team maintained its unbeaten record with a narrow 12-10 win and the Colts B suffered a narrow 7-12 defeat.