Gloucestershire Premier League
Hucclecote Old Boys 16pts Drybrook 18pts
A penalty in
injury time coolly slotted by outside half
Aaron Ryder gave Drybrook victory in this
close run affair at Hucclecote.
The home team
opened the scoring with a penalty after 5
minutes and they used their big forwards to
make life difficult for Drybrook.
Gradually
Drybrook got into the game by disrupting the
home eight and eventually worked a good
position for Ryder to drop a goal after 19
minutes.
Scrum half
Carl Moore caused Hucclecote a lot of
problems with some direct running but it was
the home side who regained the initiative
just before the break when some missed
tackles led to a converted try.
At the start
of the second half Drybrook’s John Duffin
was yellow carded for an offence at a ruck
and for 10 minutes Hucclecote made life
difficult for the visitors.
They only
managed to kick a penalty during this period
and once Drybrook were back to full strength
hooker Chris Thomas drove over for a try in
the corner to reduce the deficit.
Drybrook then
enjoyed their best period of the game and
went in front for the first time when Moore
broke through and was able to pop a pass to
the supporting Jamie Roberts who touched
down.
Ryder
converted to put Drybrook 15pts- 13pts ahead
but with one minute of normal time remaining
Hucclecote snatched the lead with a penalty
after Drybrook were caught offside at a
maul.
Drybrook did
not let their heads drop and they patiently
worked their way back towards the Hucclecote
line with some pick and drives aided by some
good support work.
Eventually
they were awarded a penalty and Ryder
stepped up to ensure the points for Drybrook
with that last gasp penalty
Particularly
impressive for Drybrook were fullback Chris
Rawlings and second row pairing Liam Jackson
and Simon Ballinger.
Drybrook team;
C. Rawlings, J. Roberts, S. Rugman, S.
Skelton, S Williams, A. Ryder, C Moore, T
Reed(capt), C. Thomas, S. Phelps, L.
Jackson, S. Ballinger, M. Perkins, J. Duffin,
N Morgan.
Substitutes:
D. Griffiths, Dan Auker-Howlett, A. Jones