Drybrook 21ptsOld Bristolians 8pts
Drybrook have now completed two years unbeaten at home but were made to fight all the way by a tenacious Old Bristolians outfit.
Tom Treherne was off target with a relatively straight forward penalty attempt after three minutes and then the visitors took control of the game for a period.
After sustained pressure a long pass was scooped off the floor and the visitors’ winger was able to race in at the corner for a try.
Drybrook hit back immediately and shunned a kick at goal to kick for the corner. The resulting catch and drive was illegally halted and scrum half Mitch Baldwin caught the visitors by surprise by taking a quick tap to go over virtually unopposed.
Treherne converted but the visitors were soon on the offensive and almost snatched a second try but were denied by a knock on.
Bristolians kept up the pressure and deservedly regained the lead with a penalty after 20 minutes which stung Drybrook into action.
Drybrook regained the lead with a try following a bit of magic from Sam Peaper. The winger received the ball in a crowd of players and feigned to kick over the top before accelerating through a tight gap to race 30 metres to the line.
Treherne converted again and for the remainder of the half Drybrook pounded away at the visitors but could not add to their score despite several push over attempts.
Half Time:
Drybrook 14pts
Old Bristolians 8pts.
Mitch Renton was introduced early in the second half and he made an immediate impact by bringing some much needed energy to a flagging forward effort.
Drybrook soon created some good attacking positions and prop Jun Sing Lee was unlucky to be bundled into touch in the corner.
A series of pick and goes kept up the pressure but it took a bit of luck to finally break the deadlock. A dropped ball was hacked on and skipper Simon Rugman managed to retrieve it before diving over near the posts.
Treherne’s conversion gave Drybrook a healthy lead but instead of going on to get a bonus point try, the game suddenly turned and Old Bristolians finished the stronger.
Renton was yellow carded with 15 minutes to go and with only 14 men Drybrook began to struggle. Old Bristolians were able to use their big forwards to good effect and forced a number of scrums on Drybrook’s five metre line.
The home side just managed to keep them out to emerge victorious but this was far from a polished performance from Drybrook.
The man of the match for Drybrook was Sam Peaper who was one of the few players to look sharp in the challenging conditions.
Drybrook 1st XV; Tom Treherne, Kristian Taft, Simon Rugman (capt), Dan Cox, Sam Peaper, Ben Large, Mitch Baldwin, Jun Sing Lee, Luke Fisher, Nick Ovens, Marcus Cowles, Glenn Nott, Liam Jackson, Danny Price, Mitch Bourne.
Replacements; Mitch Renton, Neil Morgan, Chris Rawlings.
