Kingsbridge (away) 28th January 2017

south-west-one

Kingsbridge 13pts
Drybrook 17pts

Drybrook enjoyed their first ever visit to Kingsbridge and came away with a narrow victory against a team that were far better than their current league position would suggest.
Drybrook had the slight advantage of the slope in the first half but it was Kingsbridge who made all the early running.
The home side missed a relatively easy penalty chance after 3 minutes but Drybrook eventually relieved the pressure and began to apply some of their own.
A penalty kick to the corner gave them the opportunity of a catch and drive score and prop Mitch Hale drove over for the opening try.
Tom Treherne converted and Drybrook kept pressing but it was mid way through the half before the full back added a penalty to increase their lead.
Kingsbridge then got into the game with a long period of ball retention and deservedly got a try when they outflanked Drybrook in the corner.
Towards the interval Kingsbridge were again on the attack and although a line out drive was initially halted they cleverly switched play and squeezed in at the corner.
Drybrook hit back but squandered a good opportunity from a powerful driving maul and the scores remained level at the break.

Half Time:
Kingsbridge 10pts
Drybrook 10pts

Skipper Ben Large put in a searing break to put Drybrook on the front foot at the start of the second half but Kingsbridge survived and began to frustrate the visitors with some aggressive tackling.
Drybrook were forced into a number of mistakes and constantly lost momentum with handling errors and Kingsbridge gained in confidence as a result.
The home side should have put over a penalty after 20 minutes but Drybrook were let off the hook by a poor kick and survived a few more scares before they finally cleared the danger.
Drybrook’s best period of the game then followed and after constantly probing they eventually created an overlap for Rhys Gardner to cross in the corner and Treherne’s successful conversion gave them some breathing space.
With just over 10 minutes to go Drybrook’s Mitch Bourne was yellow carded for a cynical tackle from an offside position and Kingsbridge were able to close the gap with a penalty.
A great break from Joe Tingle almost led to a try under the home posts but fellow back row man Sam Peaper just failed to hang on to his off load.
Drybrook then nearly threw the game away when Kingsbridge were awarded a penalty near half way and some needless back chat led to the referee marching them back another 10 metres. The home side kicked to the corner in an effort to drive over the line but a great steal at the line out allowed Drybrook to clear the danger.
Drybrook ended the stronger of the two teams but were still relieved to hear the final whistle.
For Drybrook skipper Ben Large was head and shoulders above everyone else on the field with a commanding performance in the centre.

Team: Thomas Treherne, Ollie Moore, Harry Howard, Ben Large (Capt), Rhys Gardner, Tim Stevenson, Ben George, Elliot Beattie, Ashley Howells, Mitch Hale, Glenn Nott, Will Greenway, Danny Price, Mitch Bourne, Mitch Renton.
Replacements: Alex Wolfe, Sam Peaper, Joe Tingle.

south-west-pilot

Drybrook United
Old Centralians

Drybrook United’s scheduled match at home to Old Centralians was called off a few hours before kick off by the visitors who were unable to raise a team.
A sad state of affairs that was not totally unexpected as once again Drybrook had to go without a home match and suffered another loss of revenue as a result.

gloucester-4

Smiths 2nds 7pts
Drybrook Extras 10pts

The Extras moved up to second in the table following this hard fought game at the Prince of Wales Stadium in Cheltenham. Earlier in the year the Extras had won convincingly at home to the same opposition but this game was much closer and only a penalty decided it at the end.
Smiths got the only score of the first half with a converted try following a quick tap penalty and although Drybrook had their moments they had nothing to show for their efforts.
In the 2nd half Drybrook’s Gareth Holdsworth scored after long run on a tap and go with many people trying to tackle him but he was strong enough to hold them all off. Skipper James Ryder converted to level the scores and later put over the all-important penalty to win a very close game.

Drybrook Extras XV; 15 Steve Skelton, 14 Kane Hale ,13 Will Bailey, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Quinten Partridge, 10 James Ryder (captain), 9 Gareth Holdsworth, 1 Craig Lancett, 2 Adam Harris, 3 Jordan Eacups, 4 Steve Turley, 5 Nik Wakeman, 6 Ashley Wallace, 7 Greg Collins, 8 Shane Davis.
Replacements; Jack Davis, Nigel Kear, Clive Boughton, Craig Boughton, Neill Ricketts, James Colwell