Cup game at Dursley

On a bracing day in which the wind whistled down off the Cotswold hills, Clifton U13s took on a strong Dursley team in our first game of 2016. After weeks of rain the Dursley pitch was extremely heavy and, with fingers numbed by the cold, it was never going to be a day for free-flowing rugby, and so it turned out.

We started slowly, but gradually worked our way towards their try line. Just when a Clifton try looked certain, Dursley intercepted and went the length of the pitch for a try of their own under the posts - 7-0. Thereafter we were playing catch-up, and for most of the game it looked as though we never would. Dom gave us hope by scoring a cracking individual try just before half time and so we turned round 7-5 down.

The game was turning into a titanic tussle. We were marginally the better team, particularly when we remembered to run straight, but recycling the ball was difficult, with both teams proving adept at turnovers. Many penalties were awarded and the game was stop/start most of the way.

Dursley worked their way over on the left, to make it 12-5, but we responded with a well-worked try by Hugo in the corner.

It was now 12-10 and when we were twice marched back 10m for back-chat (a familiar problem for us), allowing them to kick a penalty, the score was 15-10 and we needed a converted try to win.

We kept going, our forwards worked their way into their half, and when Dursley kicked into touch thinking it was the last play of the game, we won the line-out, got the ball into the middle of the pitch and, as he has so often, Tom Dibble did the rest, battering his way over for a well-deserved try.

We still needed a conversion to win, but after Matthew had been dissuaded from trying to drop-kick it over, he showed nerves of steel to slot it. The whistle went immediately, leaving us winners 15-17 - a very hard fought win against a spirited Dursley team. We could not have complained had the result gone the other way.

Man of the match for his all-round play, including several barn-storming runs from Number 8, was Dominic Santamaria.

We now move on to a home game against Cheltenham North, and have given ourselves a good chance of progressing out of the group stages of the Cup.