Painswick v Clifton U15s

A cold but sunny morning saw the team travel to the picturesque Painswick valley for our latest Gloucestershire County Cup game. After the last week’s victory over Hucclecote, Painswick were an unknown quantity and we really did not know what to expect.

We welcomed back George after his lay off following injury and he made an immediate impact. He caught the kick off at pace and ran straight through a hole in their defensive line before outpacing the cover to score under the posts. Was this a sign of things to come?

It took a while but the second try came following a great dummy from Ryley who timed his pass well to set up Ben Jones. A try then followed from Dom’s pick up from a scrum and strong run straight through the middle. Realising we had a firm grip already on the game the team tried to play some expansive rugby although straight direct running proved the most successful tactic.

After a brief period of Painswick pressure Matt received the ball near our line and proceeded to run the length of the pitch to score a spectacular individual try. The very next play saw another score with Kit receiving the ball and running through their team and with only one man to beat used his quick feet to score under the post. Half time score was 35-0 with Elliott successfully making all conversions.

The second half saw further tries from Ben Jones set up by Ryley with another well timed pass and Sam Reid following a great hand off. Painswick continued to scrummage well and had some success with pick and goes before Ben Jones then returned the favour by setting up Ryley and George scored his second before our converted wingers Kit and Tom D also scored. Kit showed great pace for a hooker and Tom’s try followed a well worked move off the back of a scrum. Between these two scores Painswick secured a try of their own which they fully deserved for their commitment and defensive efforts. Our scoring was completed by Owen who received the ball after some good offloads and then ran past and through the Painswick defence showing great speed.

Overall it was a very good performance and a game played with good spirit by both teams and well refereed. Tougher test lie ahead but the final score was 78-5.

By Louis Jones