The One That Got Away!

Drybrook R.F.C 10pts
Exeter University 14pts

The pitch was in perfect condition after the mid-week deluge and on a bright chilly afternoon Exeter got the game started with a long kick towards the clubhouse.
After a three week lay-off the Drybrook team were forced to defend their line in the opening encounters as the pacey Uni boys looked to open the score book.
Drybrooks defence held well and it was the ever-reliable Kyle Frowen who was on hand to turn the ball over and earn his side the penalty.
Drybrook were now in the ascendancy and strong running from Mitch Renton and Mitch Hale began to take its toll on the Exeter defence. Ben Large as always, was proving difficult to bring down in the centre and with twenty-six minutes played the stalemate was broken when Jack Curtis was the beneficiary of good play by Tim Stevenson and Large, to collect the final pass and score on the left-hand side of the pitch.
Stevenson nailed the difficult conversion and the home side held the lead at seven points to nil.
The students restarted and again the ball was carried back into their half by Renton, and the home team continued to pressure the Uni defences.
After a series of attacks that led to a number of penalties, the Exeter scrum-half paid the price with a yellow card, after he was spotted, by the ref, slowing the ball down at the ruck.

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Stevenson kicked the resulting penalty and the Drybrook team took a well deserved ten-nil lead into the break.
The second began, and the large crowd at the Mannings were feeling quietly confident that their side could increase their lead against a team that in all honesty compared to earlier seasons did not look to be at their best.
Drybrook however began to let their focus slip and their discipline let them down, as the Exeter side were awarded simple penalties that afforded them good field advantage.
With quarter of an hour played of the second period the Exeter boys eventually broke through and scored a converted try to bring the score back to ten points to seven.
As the sky began to darken and the chill wind grew icy so the mood around the ground began to become more sombre.
With the loss of the influential Renton, who was forced off with a leg injury Drybrook lost impetuous and their game began to unravel as they lost ball on their own set-piece and failed to mount any threatening moves of their own.
The one thing they were doing well was defending and try as they might the Uni side could find no-way through a resolute Drybrook rear-guard action.
With the clock running down Drybrook looked to have weathered the storm, and despite the loss

of Frowen to the sin bin for what looked to be a very innocuous offence they broke upfield to earn a penalty forty yards from the opposition line with just a minute of injury time left on the clock.
After some deliberation the decision was taken to go for goal and Stevenson stepped up to take the kick.
The ball failed to find its mark and drifted to the left of the uprights. Worse still it never had the distance to go dead and the speedy Uni backs broke from their line. Drybrook had committed the cardinal error of not chasing the kick and the crowd looked on in disbelief as the Uni winger carved his way upfield to score the winning try for his team.
Drybrook will know in their heart of hearts that their showing in the second half was not as it should have been and this was a game they should have won.
Next week we are away to Exmouth and I am sure the boy’s will be looking to make amends after the disappointment this result.

Drive on Dry and up the Squirrels

Drybrook: CURTIS, ROBERTS, PRICE, LARGE, BALDWIN, STEVENSON, MARSH, BOURNE, FROWEN, WATTS, NOTT, RENTON, HALE, HOWELLS, DAYNES, JELF, AUKER-HOWLETT,