Drybrook Rugby Club

Weston Super Mare 10pts
Drybrook 14pts

Anyone who had ever been to Weston back in the good old days with the sun shining, the donkeys running up and down the beach and the sea always out of reach, could well have been forgiven for thinking they had arrived in a totally different location on Saturday. The cold wind whipping down the ground bringing with it torrential downpours of rain, sleet and hail did not make it easy to play positive rugby. To the credit of both teams however they certainly did their level best to produce an entertaining afternoon, with the end result in the balance until the final play.
The majority of the crowd seemed to be from the Forest and they were certainly not going to miss this encounter, as games between these two teams does seem to carry an extra bit of spice.
Weston started the game with the fierce elements in their favour. They kicked long and Drybrook caught the ball deep in their own half.
Playing against the forces of nature Drybrook had no other option other than to try and control possession and make headway through short driving forward play, which they did well until the slippery conditions forced an error and the ball squirted forward.
Weston now had the egg and used it well to put Marcus Nel through for the opening try. The conversion was missed in the tricky conditions but with ten minutes played the home team held a five point advantage.
The play was mostly in the Drybrook half and with the home team scrum going well the men in green were doing well to stem the tide, however on twenty minutes the Weston team drove forward from a lineout and when they moved the ball out behind fullback Glenn Dickson joined the line and crossed for Weston’s second try. The conversion was again off target and the score moved on to ten points to nil in favour of the home team.
The away supporters would have been more than

.
happy to settle for this at half time given the advantage Weston held in terms of the conditions but the Drybrook team were in no mood to just hang in there and with thirty minutes on the clock a neat inside ball from Stevenson to Baldwin set the winger free.
After making good ground Baldwin kicked ahead and just beat his own full-back Olly Moore in the race to touch the ball down. Clancy made light work of the strong wind and the Village team were back in the game at ten points to seven.
Following their win against Cleve a week earlier you could sense the confidence in the Drybrook ranks and just before half time they produced another act of quality to send skipper Ben Large in for a well taken try. Clancy again added the extras and against the expectations of the support and the elements of nature the Forest outfit were fourteen points to ten in front as the half time whistle sent the players scurrying to the respite of the changing rooms.
The second half brought no change in conditions and with the wind at their backs Drybrook were able to control the majority of the possession.
Stevenson and Clancy manoeuvred the ball into good areas and Drybrook should really have increased their lead when the try line was placed at their mercy. A speculative long pass instead of a couple of easy ones put paid to their ambitions and Weston were able to clear the danger.
With the darkness gathering and the rain unrelenting the clock was ticking down and the Drybrook faithful were growing edgier as Weston pressed in search of the try that would give them the win. Renton was sent to the bin for his second high tackle and Drybrook looked to be in trouble as Weston forced a number of scrums just metres from the visitor’s line.
They spun the ball wide and looked to have broken Drybrook heart’s when winger Huw Morgan latched on to the final pass and dived for the line. A fantastic try saving tackle by Large

and Baldwin combined made sure he was unable to ground the ball but Weston were still in a great position with the put in to the scrum five metres out.
What Drybrook needed was someone to step up and make a name for themselves.
With Renton off the field who should join the scrum but none other than the Drybrook outside-half Tim Stevenson.
Weston won the scrum but were unable to go forward with the Drybrook eight holding firm. Instead they broke blind and again looked for the pass to Morgan.
Stevenson was off the back of the scrum like a whippet and stepped in to intercept the final pass.
Instead of sprinting the hundred yards to the Weston line he decided to kick the ball dead and secure a splendid away win for the Green Army.
The changing room was bouncing with singing and dancing and the party carried on all the way back to the clubhouse in Drybrook.
This was another hard fought victory and the Drybrook boys all played their part in it.
Drybrook have now played all the teams in this league and have held their own admirably on most occasions.
Next week they travel to Exmouth in the last game before the Christmas break and will be looking to extend their recent good form.

Drive on Dry !

Drybrook Squad:– MOORE, ROBERTS, PRICE, LARGE, BALDWIN, STEVENSON, CLANCY, BOURNE, FROWEN, PEAPER, RENTON, GREENWAY, BEATIE, STRETCH, HALE, SEVILLE, WATTS, JELF.