Cirencester (home) 1st February 2014

Western Counties North
report-page-western-countieDrybrook 52pts
Cirencester 6pts

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Drybrook kept up the pressure on the top two with this bonus point victory over struggling Cirencester.
Drybrook’s victory was all the more impressive given the appalling playing conditions where the cold wind and rain and muddy conditions underfoot made life unpleasant for all concerned.
Cirencester opened the scoring with a penalty after 6 minutes but Drybrook hit straight back with a penalty try. A big forward drive to the line was halted illegally and the referee had no option but to award the penalty try and Ollie Clements made no mistake with the conversion.
Cirencester reduced the deficit with a penalty for coming in at the side of a ruck but this proved only temporary relief as Drybrook soon took control.
Lots of pressure on the visitor’s line eventually led to scrum half Carl Moore snaffling the loose ball before wriggling over for a try which Clements converted.
A chip and chase from winger Dan Cox led to him being illegally taken out with Cirencester consequently losing a player to the sin bin, The resulting penalty was kicked to the corner and after several phases replacement Sam Peaper was put through the gap and rounded to the posts to make the conversion a formality for Clements.
Right on the stroke of half time Drybrook put together a wonderful handling move which led to prop Nick Ovens putting Tom Treherne into space. The fullback made fully thirty metres on a great run to the line or Drybrook’s bonus point score.
Clements put over the difficult conversion to give Drybrook a healthy advantage at the break.

Half Time:
Drybrook 28pts
Cirencester 6pts

The driving wind and rain continued in the second half but Drybrook showed good patience and were rewarded for their efforts when skipper Simon Rugman touched down following more pressure.
Despite the deteriorating conditions Drybrook played at a high tempo and scored again when replacement scrum half Mitch Baldwin nipped over following a 5 metre scrum.
Clements made the difficult conversion look easy and the home side did not let up in their quest for further scores.
Cirencester made a mess of clearing a line out near their own line and second row Neil Morgan dived on the loose ball for a simple try.
Drybrook lost flanker Danny Price to the bin for back chatting the referee but despite this the home side continued to dominate.
In the dying minutes Sam Peaper wriggled over for his second try to bring up the fifty point mark which was just reward for a fine all round effort by the whole team.
Drybrook were well served by several players in the challenging conditions with centre Ben Large and fullback Tom Treherne looking good in an impressive back division. In the forwards back row men Danny Price and Mitch Renton put in good performances but second row Neil Morgan edged the “Jormax” man of the match award for his all action showing.

Drybrook 1st XV; Tom Treherne, Kristian Taft, Ben Large, Simon Rugman (Capt), Dan Cox, Ollie Clements, Carl Moore, Jun Sing Lee, Luke Fisher, Nick Ovens, Marcus Cowles, Neil Morgan, Dan Price, Liam Jackson, Mitch Renton.
Replacements: Mitch Baldwin, Mitch Bourne, Sam Peaper.

Gloucestershire Reserve League Premier
PREMIER-link
Westbury 1st XV
Drybrook United

Drybrook United’s match with Westbury-on-Severn 1st XV was cancelled as the elver eaters had a rearranged league match.

Gloucestershire Reserve League North 2
north-2-link
Matson Wolfhounds 5pts
Drybrook Extras 7pt
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This match was played on Matson’s new pitch which was in surprisingly good condition considering the recent weather. The wet and dreary afternoon led to a less than entertaining spectacle but Drybrook’s third string showed great character to hang on to their slender lead despite everything Matson threw at them.
The home side took the lead with a break away try from a penalty award but Drybrook kept plugging away with lots of good forward play which eventually led to their all important score.
Quick ball from a ruck enabled centre Matt Freeman to make a break and he off loaded to brother Jack who touched down.
Jimmy Ryder put over the conversion which was ultimately to prove the deciding score.
In the second half Matson were on top for the first 15 minutes but could not find a way through the Drybrook defence in which fullback Quentin Partridge was particularly outstanding.
Drybrook then had more of the play but neither side could add to their earlier scores.
Drybrook were well served by Tony Hussey at scrum half, Partridge at fullback and the ever reliable Jimmy Ryder who gave a masterclass at outside half.

Drybrook Extras; Quentin Partridge, Jay Knight, Matt Freeman, Luke Roberts, Jack Freeman, Jimmy Ryder, Tony Hussey, Sam Stone, Tom Maskell (capt), Andy Warren, Mitch Hale, Simon Ballinger, Connor Hale, Jordan Taylor-Bourne, Nathan Gurney.

Replacements; Colin Morgan, Dave Jones, Jack Davies, Richard Roberts.