BARFC 31, Cullompton 15 (20/01/18)
By Ben Warren
On a very blustery day, Bridgwater and Albion produced an excellent performance at the College Way Ground to see off visitors Cullompton by 31 points to 15.
With just 2 minutes on the clock, a driving run from Bridgwater ended with Lewis Phillips going over for a try, which made the score 5-0 to the hosts. With the wind making kicking very difficult, the extras were missed.
After 11 minutes, hooker Sam Adcock handed off to Kyran Devitt to score a try and make the score 10-0.
7 minutes later, Cullompton came back into what was a good game of rugby where the visitors never gave up. They scored a try courtesy of Lewis Ryan, which reduced the lead to just 5 points heading into half-time.
Just before the break however, second row forward Rob Thompson drove over to score a neat try which was followed by a Stuart Heal conversion. Albion led 17-5 at the halfway stage.
Despite the slightly muddy conditions, the game flowed well throughout. After 8 minutes of the second half, replacement George Sluman went over for a try, which was again converted by Heal. At this point Albion were in control with the score 24-5.
In the 59th minute, a wonderful piece of Rugby from Bridgwater saw New Zealand prop Craig Blyde go over for a try. Heal made no mistake again with the conversion and the score moved to 31-5.
Cullompton replied after 24 minutes of the second half, with Henry Niblett scoring a try. Despite Marcus Busch scoring another unconverted late try it was not enough to prevent Bridgwater and Albion taking a comfortable 31-15 victory. That scoreline enabled Albion to pick up a 5 point win.
Scorers:
Bridgwater tries: Lewis Phillips, Kyran Devitt, Rob Thompson, George Sluman, Craig Blyde.
Bridgwater conversions: Stuart Heal (3)
Category: 1st XV News, Previews / Reports -XV