Drybrook Rugby Club

Barton Hill 8pts
Drybrook 24pts

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Drybrook leapfrogged BartonHill to move up to third in the table following this excellent victory in Bristol.
Playing up the slope and on a difficult surface, Drybrook surprised the hosts by showing great adventure early on when hooker Luke Fisher was tackled just short of the line. The ball was recycled quickly and with men in support everywhere, prop Jun Sing Lee was put over on the overlap.
Drybrook continued to have the better of things and with 20 minutes gone they scored a second try. Fisher caught the home fullback in possession and robbed the ball to set up an attack. Scrum half Carl Moore then dived over for a try from the resulting ruck.
The home side hit back with a penalty after 22 minutes but this only proved a temporary setback to Drybrook who continued to play well and they deservedly increased their lead with a well struck Ollie Clements penalty just before the break.

Half Time:
BartonHill Old Boys 3pts
Drybrook 13pts

Drybrook soon increased their lead when Clements converted a long range penalty but they then had to weather a strong spell of pressure from the hosts before moving down field to score the try of the game. A series of phases were worked on the home 22 metre line and a lightening strike down the blind side, followed by a couple of deft off loads, led to centre Ben Large crashing over.
Conditions underfoot then began to deteriorate badly and it was the hosts who seemed to adapt better and they made the Drybrook defence work hard to keep them out.
Drybrook then lost flanker Danny Price to the sin bin following repeated infringements and BartonHill laid siege to the line. It took 10 minutes of constant battering before the referee finally awarded a try which seemed a little harsh on Drybrook’s heroic defence.
Undaunted, Drybrook hit back immediately when Clements put over another penalty and the visitors then controlled proceedings to run out worthy winners.

Next week Drybrook 1st XV host North Bristol in the final of the Gloucestershire Intermediate County Cup (ko 2pm)

Drybrook 1st XV; Tom Treherne, Mitch Baldwin, Simon Rugman (Capt), Ben Large, Kristian Taft, Ollie Clements, Carl Moore, Jun Sing Lee, Luke Fisher, Nick Ovens, Dale Critchley, Joe James, Lee Ward, Danny Price, Mitch Renton.
Replacements; Ashley Howells, Rorie Day, Chris Rawlings.

Drybrook United 18pts
Dings Knights 20pts

A penalty with the last kick of the game snatched victory from Drybrook’s grasp and handed runaway league leaders Dings Knights the narrowest of victories.
It was rough luck on Drybrook who had clawed their way back into the game after being 17pts – nil down in the first half and who had themselves taken the lead with only 4 minutes left.
Dings started very strongly and scored a try when a fortuitous bounce fell kindly for their winger. Weak tackling then brought a second try for the visitors and a quickly taken tap penalty led to a third try with the Drybrook defence disorganised.
A much better showing in the second half saw the Dings scrum destroyed and prop Craig Clarke opened Drybrook’s account with a try from a driven line out.
An Andy Milner penalty closed the gap further and then a penalty try was awarded when No 8 Neil Morgan seemed certain to score a pushover try.
With the game entering the last few minutes Drybrook took a deserved lead when an attempted drop goal was charged down by an offside defender and Milner made no mistake with the resulting penalty kick.
In trying to close the game out the home side conceded a last ditch penalty when the referee deemed the ball carrier had run into one of his own players and the successful kick signalled the end of the game.
For Drybrook Neil Morgan did a great job as pack leader with backs Kieran Auker-Howlett, Aiden Price and replacement Tony Paul all playing well.
Drybrook United XV; Connor Hale, Will Bailey, Mitch Bourne, Aiden Price, Tony Hussey, Andy Milner (capt), Kieran Auker-Howlett, Connor Auker-Howlett, John Baynham, Craig Clarke, Glenn Nott, Mitch Hale, Jim Rugman, Mitch Browning, Neil Morgan.
Replacements; Tony Suter, Craig Moore, Tony Paul, Dean Jelf.