CLIFTON U16 v DRYBROOK

We left Bristol early in rush hour traffic for the long trip to Drybrook I was really looking forward to playing under lights and my Dad seemed pleased as well ....he kept saying "well done Aftab for moving the fixture from Clifton to Drybrook" as it was so easy to find.

The weather was windy and raining but we were confident that our massive pack would do well in these conditions and give the backs plenty of ball to show their skills.

Straight from kick off some powerful ball carrying from Dylan , Ethan and Moniee started to make dents in the Drybrook defence . Nathan secured the ball well from kick-offs and we had a definite edge in the scrums ....of which there were a lot. ....Owen enjoyed discussing this aspect of the game with the referee immensely. Despite the poor conditions our backs handled well and I was pleased with the support play and the willingness of players to pass. We finished the first half with five tries as a result.

The second half was similar with strong driving play from the forwards, great support play and good passing across the team. George Bond's try was a really good example of this with the move going across the pitch and through several pairs of hands.
Moniee and Zak completed hat-tricks , Dylan went over for a debut try and Ethan scored a brilliant solo effort including an outrageous sidestep which means he can't really be a proper front row player now. ....you don't see that kind of move from Charlie Gingell .

I was really pleased with our defence, Drybrook were a good , strong, physical team; they never gave up and the game was competitive from start to finish despite the score. At one point during the second half they spent a long period hammering away on our try line but our defence was really solid and in the end we won the ball back and went the length of the pitch to score. A real highlight on the night.

We should be pleased with the result and the performance, we beat a pretty good side, by a lot ,in tough conditions but we can get even better and we will have to if we want to win the cup competitions we are in this season, which we do. Our scrums were solid and the backs always dangerous, our line out needs some more practise and our long range goal kicking was interesting with Moniee giving the crowd a real laugh with his first half effort, but it's good to have Zack there to always grab the ball to take the easy ones in front of the posts.

Well done to everyone on a good team performance, one of our best I think including all the subs who came on and fitted right in straight away.

ARON HAYNES

Clifton Rugby Club

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