Dursley v Clifton U15s

A win to finish the group stage of Glos cup
We travelled to Dursley for our last group game in the knowledge that a win would result in us topping our group. After a good warm up we started well with some good moves and continuity in our attack but as with the rest of the game Dursley provided a stern test and tackled well.
We did start the scoring following turnover ball, secured by Herbie, and some good attacking running from Sam C who timed his pass well to put Sam S in for a score in the corner. Our next try was undoubtably the highlight of the day with a great kick from Hugo caught well by Owen who was aware of the support and passed to Sam R who beat the cover to score well in the corner. A move straight off the training pitch and showing the variety we need to be successful.
The penalty count then started to hurt us with the team finding numerous ways to get penalised. This gave Dursley a foothold in the game particularly as their kicking to touch was very good. From a Penalty they kicked three points to make the score 10-3. We needed to score next and did so after some really good play again from turnover ball and then good continuity before Sam S was again running the right supporting line to touch down for his second try. A third good conversion attempt from wide out was unsuccessful leaving the score 15-3 at halftime.
For the second half we were playing up the slope and despite some good periods of possession we again gave away too many penalties and did not capitalise on some promising positions. Finally the forwards started to impose themselves with some more direct running and support play with Tom D and Tom S both scoring well taken tries following periods of pressure on the Dursley line. Elliott secured one conversion.
The game finished with us again near the Dursley line but the opposition remained resilient to leave the final score 27-3. Overall a good game and test from a team with a good committed defence that needed good teamwork to break down. Other positives included the scrum and lineout which were both solid and it was good to see us secure numerous turnovers. When Dursley had the ball the backs’ defence did not give them any real chances and whilst not everything worked we did try a few moves to provide variety.

Chris