Drybrook RFC 5, BARFC 13 (10/10/15)

AN Other | 10/10/2015

Match report by Tony Pomeroy

Bridgwater continued their unbeaten start to the season with this very hard-fought victory in the Forest of Dean.

Still missing James Martin, Bridgy had John Hill at full back and Jervis Manupenu, himself recovered from injury, back at fly half instead of the concussed, Chris Ashwin. Adrian Tew and Joe Bussell started as props in the absence of James Bryant and Dan Kemmish was restored to the second row with Al Blundell dropping to the bench with Ethan Trebble-Westlake and Scott Woolford.

Despite the Bridgwater pack looking very solid in scrums and linesout, it was the home side who dominated possession and territory throughout the half. Just about the first time Bridgwater exerted pressure, the home side were penalised and Taylor Buller, in the unaccustomed role of goal kicker, landed a superb forty metre penalty after only 8 minutes and give Bridgwater a lead they would never relinquish.

Play continued to flow – mainly between the 22’s – as both sides strived to break through. Defences held very firm as attack after attack was either snuffed out or lost through an error.

Approaching half time, Buller doubled Bridgwater’s lead with a second penalty this time from 35m to leave the score a tantalising 0-6 at the break.

The second period started with the home side tearing into the visitors as they attempted to hold on to their home record this season. The harder they tried, the harder Bridgwater tackled and some very crunching hits were put in by many of the Bridgwater team.

After a quarter of an hour, Luca Ercolani was guilty of a deliberate knock-on and was sent to the naughty step for ten minutes. Drybrook piled on the pressure and after laying siege to the Bridgwater line finally managed a try when Mitch Renton was driven over for a somewhat controversial and unconverted try. As the ruck was being driven over, one of the home forwards was clearly seen raining a fusillade of punches into the Bridgwater players. It is possible the referee was unsighted.

This incident was the catalyst for further ‘disagreements’ between the teams which lasted until the final whistle.

Bridgwater lost hooker, Tom Hillman, to a suspected broken ankle before they sealed the game with a good try. Running the ball from inside their own half, they finally broke through and the ball reached Ali Blundell – a second half replacement for Rob Thompson. With players outside him screaming for the ball he sold an outrageous dummy and sprinted towards the posts where he just managed to ground the ball as he was tackled. Buller kicked the easy conversion and gain a 13-5 lead for his side.

Despite a valiant attempt by the home side, Bridgwater held out to record a thoroughly deserved win.

Bridgwater’s defence has been superb this season and this game was no exception. The players all kept their heads when it would have been too easy to have reacted to provocation. The forwards were solid throughout and looked secure in set pieces. The ball was rarely turned over in the loose and players ran with determination with the ball in hand. The many travelling spectators were well rewarded by the efforts of the players.

Next week, Bridgwater entertain table-topping Newent, who are one point ahead of second-placed Bridgwater. This game has been brought forward from Carnival Night and will start at 3-00 pm. Bridgwater will then visit Weston super Mare on October 24th before a two week league break.

Scorers :

Drybrook
Try : Renton

Bridgwater & Albion
Try:             Blundell
Con:             Buller
Pens:            Buller (2)

Bridgwater Team

John Hill, Oscar Tregenna, Rob Allen, Garryn Basson, James Brakes, Jervis Manupenu, Tom Fournier-D’Albe, Adrian Tew, Tom Hillman, Joe Bussell, Rob Thompson, Dan Kemmish, Luca Ercolani, Ollie Dunn (Capt), Taylor Buller

Replacements (all used) : Scott Woolford, Ali Blundell, Ethan Trebble-Westlake

Tags: featured, full-image