Match reports

United XV Match Reports for 2007/8

15th March 2008

Drybrook United 12pts Tredworth 1st XV 10pts

Drybrook’s second string was up against a powerful visiting pack but they were much sharper in the loose and managed to secure victory. Second row Ben Steward and winger Lewis Mitchell scored Drybrook’s tries with skipper Tom Treherne adding 1 conversion.

8th March 2008

Citizen Merit League 1

Gordon league “A” 6pts Drybrook United 16pts
Drybrook’s second string secured the runners-up spot in the league with their second victory of the season over Gordon league. Facing the Hempsted Lane slope and the wind Drybrook quickly fell behind to a penalty but eventually worked up field where scrum half Tom Treherne put his team ahead with a try following a scrum on the home line. League regained the lead with a second penalty but Drybrook’s powerful forwards kept them in the hunt and just before the interval they drove the home pack off the ball and Treherne was able to nip in for his second try. Drybrook put the home side under a lot of pressure in the second half and added 2 Treherne penalties to ensure victory. Treherne’s 16 point haul saw him pass the 100 point barrier for the season.

1st March 2008

Citizen Merit League 1

Drybrook United 28pts Widden Old Boys “A” 6pts

Drybrook’s second string put in one of their best performances of the season to see off an in form Widden outfit. Winger Steve Hale set the tone for the game when he latched on to a kick ahead to out pace the defence for the games first try. Skipper Tom Treherne missed the relatively easy conversion but made amends soon after with a penalty after a lot of pressure on the visitors’ line. Prop forward Jamie Daunter completed the first half scoring with a try with Treherne adding the extra points.

Drybrook were equally effective after the break and continued pressure led to two more Treherne penalties. Veteran No8 Richie Roberts made the game safe when he touched down with 5 minutes to go and Treherne again added the conversion. For Drybrook Jamie Daunter, Simon Burke and Lewis Mitchell all played well with Tom Treherne also putting in a very accomplished performance at scrum half.

23rd February 2008

Friendly

Drybrook United 6pts Westbury-on-Severn 1st XV nil

Drybrook’s second string just edged a very close game with neighbours Westbury at the Mannings. This was the second time these sides have met this term and neither game has seen a try with Drybrook also edging the first encounter back in November. The closest either side came to a try in this game was in the opening minutes when Drybrook’s skipper Tom Treherne made a decisive break but instead of going for the corner he tried to cut inside the cover defence and was tackled just short. After that Drybrook enjoyed a lot of possession but all they had to show for their first half efforts was a long range Treherne penalty. Westbury came into the game more in the second half and had a good deal of pressure on the home line but could not break through. Midway through the half Treherne increased Drybrook’s lead with a well struck penalty into the difficult wind. There was no further scoring despite a lot of endeavour from two well matched teams as they fought for supremacy but in the end Drybrook just did enough for victory.

16th February 2008

Citizen Merit League 1

Cinderford Stags 27pts Drybrook United nil

(Report from Cinderford)

9th February 2008

Citizen Merit League 1

Drybrook United 24pts ChosenHill Former Pupils nil

Chosen Hill arrived without any recognised front row so this game had uncontested scrums from the start. Drybrook should have won by a far healthier margin considering the amount of possession they had but in the end had to settle for 4 tries. Two of those were scored by former club captain John Jeffs who showed he has lost none of his pace by running in both from deep positions whilst others were added by Ryan Dubberley and Danny Griffiths. Jimmy Ryder added 2 conversions.

2nd February 2008

Friendly

Monmouth Druids 10 pts Drybrook United 20pts

A hard forward battle at Monmouth eventually saw Drybrook come out on top with manager Chris Treherne influential in victory. Pressed into service at scrum half due to injuries and unavailability Treherne showed that he has not lost any of his scoring prowess by helping himself to 2 tries. Drybrook’s other tries came from fullback Steve Skelton and winger Jamie Wood.

12th January 2008

Friendly

Spartans “A” 20pts Drybrook United 25pts

The Drybrook second string kept up their successful season with this latest victory coming against a good Spartans XV at the Bishops College ground.

Skipper Tom Treherne put Drybrook ahead with a penalty but Spartans showed plenty of enterprise and scored 2 tries in quick succession to forge ahead.

Drybrook’s No 8 Dean Large, who was the outstanding player of the day, then barged over the line to open Drybrook’s account.

Spartans kept attacking from deep and were rewarded just before the interval with a third try to make the score 17pts – 8pts.

In the second half Drybrook began to get on top especially in the forwards where Large kept his team going forward with a number of powerful breaks.

Eventually Tom Treherne crossed for a try and then hooker Steve Lewis got on the score sheet with a try following a lot of pressure on the home line to put Drybrook 18pts – 17pts ahead.

Unfortunately an injury to one of Spartan’s props led to uncontested scrums and the home team were able to get right back in the game.

Ten minutes of pressure finally told when Spartans added a drop goal to retake the lead and with less than 10 minutes to play Drybrook needed something special.

It came from centre Dan Large who made a tremendous break from 30 metres, scything through the home defence to touch down near the posts for Aaron Ryder to convert.

There were a number of other players who did well for Drybrook. In the pack Adam Yemm played well while out behind skipper Tom Treherne looked sharp with centre Chris White again very solid in defence.

Drybrook United team: A. Ryder, S. Hale, C. White, Dan Large, D. Payne, J. Ryder, T. Treherne (Capt), I. Pritchard, S. Lewis, L. Phelps, W. Chung, A. Yemm. Dan Auker-Howlett, R. Roberts. Dean Large.

Substitutes; A. Jones, L. Jones.

5th January 2008

Citizen Merit League 1

Drybrook United 15pts ConeyHill”B” 10pts

This was a very tight game but a captain’s performance from Tom Treherne led his side to victory. Coney Hill opened the scoring with a penalty but Treherne soon put his team ahead with a try after combining with winger Dave Payne for an excellent score. Almost immediately Coney Hill grabbed the lead with a very good try following a break from their own half. Treherne put Drybrook back in front just before the interval with a try from close range that he converted himself. A good break from N0 8 Dean Large resulted in an early second half penalty that Treherne kicked to increase his team’s lead but from then on in it was a very close affair with Drybrook having to dig deep on a number of occasions to keep the visitors out.

8th December 2007

Friendly

Drybrook United 6pts Greyhound (Hereford) 7pts

Match abandoned after 51 minutes.

This match ended in controversial style when the Greyhound coach asked the referee to call a halt to proceedings because too many of his players were receiving injuries and that he needed them for league action the following week. What made matters worse was that Drybrook had just been awarded a penalty close to the visitor’s posts but the referee did not allow them to take it. In the first half Greyhound had the strong wind at their backs and took the lead with a converted try but Jimmy Ryder kept Drybrook in it with 2 penalty goals. After the break Drybrook subjected the visitors to a lot of pressure in their own 22 but just when it looked as if they were about to get their reward the timely intervention from the Greyhound coach put an end to the game.

1st December 2007

Citizen Merit League 1

Drybrook United 15pts Gordon League “A” nil

Gordon League arrived with no recognised front row so the whole match had to be played with uncontested scrums.
Despite this set back Drybrook did well and owe much to skipper Tom Treherne who was responsible for all his teams points.
The first try came when winger Chris White chased a kick ahead and then tackled the ball carrier to allow Treherne to nip in for the try.
A penalty followed and then in the second half Treherne followed up his own kick to hack on and win the race to the touch down for a try that he converted himself.
Drybrook United now move into second position in the league.

17th November

Friendly

Westbury-on-Severn 1^st XV nil Drybrook United 9pts
Drybrook’s second string pulled off a good victory at Westbury but neither team were able to cross the try line. Drybrook played against the wind in the first half and despite a good supply of ball they could not breach the home defence. Eventually skipper Tom Treherne put his side ahead with a 20th minute penalty but this proved to be the only scoring of the half. Drybrook spent an impressive amount of time in Westbury’s half during the second period but never really looked like scoring a try as the home defence held firm. Jimmy Ryder increased Drybrook’s lead with a drop goal with 25 minutes played and then followed up with a second drop goal on the half hour mark. With Westbury needing 2 scores Drybrook were content to play out the last few minutes by keeping the home team pinned back with kicks to the corner to ensure they emerged triumphant.

10th November 2007

Citizen Merit League 1

Drybrook United 17pts Berry Hill United 5pts

Drybrook were always in command in this game and eased to victory with 2 converted tries.
The first came when No 8 Dean Large broke down the blind side of the scrum before off loading to Richard Roberts who scored in the corner.
Steve Hale converted and then Drybrook added a second when Large capitalised on a lot of pressure on the Hill line to crash over from a scrum. Tom Treherne converted that try and then wrapped up the scoring for Drybrook with a penalty. Man of the Match for Drybrook was Ben Steward who made a number of telling runs and some crunching tackles on his second team debut.

3rd November 2007

Citizen Merit League

Coney Hill 3rds 0pts Drybrook United 11pts

Drybrook United beat Coney Hill 3rds with a try from Mark Castree plus penalties from Jimmy Ryder and captain Tom Treherne. Castree returning from a 2 month lay-off with a knee ligament injury, later suffered a re-occurrence of the injury and will probably be out for the rest of the season. Drybrooks pack dominated at the scrum and the line-out where Mitch Browning secured a lot of possession. Andy Jones amazed everyone with his inspiring presence in all areas, leading the forward rumbles and making numerous crunching tackles. Centres Dan Large and Nick Lewis combined well in attack and defence, and Carl Jennings made a promising united xv debut

20th October 2007

Citizen Merit League 1

Old Centralians "A" 17pts Drybrook United 39pts

The first 60 minutes of this game proved to be a hard battle for both teams and Centralians led by 17pts - 11pts but Drybrook then took control to run out deserved winners. Jimmy Ryder opened the scoring for Drybrook with 2 penalties and they were then awarded a try by Tom Treherne after the young scrum half crashed over following a break from the scrum. Old Centralians then edged in front but Drybrook surged to victory with tries from Jon Mustoe, Dean Large and Steve Hale. Treherne also added a second try as well as kicking 3 conversions with Ryder also adding 1 conversion. For Drybrook fullback Dave Payne and second row Mark Perkins both had good games whilst centre Chris White caught the eye with some outstanding tackling.

13th October 2007

Friendly

Drybrook United 25pts Gloucester Civil Service 1^st XV nil

Drybrook’s 2^nd string pulled off a comfortable victory at home to Civil Service where their young back row of Dean Large, Dan Auker-Howlett and Mitch Browning looked particularly sharp. Skipper Tom Treherne opened the scoring with a try when he took a line out tap and then burst through the gap to touch down. N0 8 Dean Large then gave Drybrook a ten point interval lead with a try from the back of the scrum. In the second half fullback Dave Hartwell, recently joined from Bream, took the ball on a good angle to scythe through the defence for Drybrook’s third try and then Large added his second again from a scrum close to the line. Prop forward Lee Phelps completed the scoring for Drybrook with a try from a line out catch and drive. Unfortunately Treherne did not have his kicking boots on and he was unable to convert any of the tries.

6th October 2007

Citizen Merit League 1

Chosen Hill Vs Drybrook United

Cancelled Chosen Hill unable to raise a team

22nd September 2007

Citizen Merit League 1

Widden Old Boys “A” 5pts Drybrook United 17pts

Drybrook’s second string started off their league campaign with a solid victory at newly promoted Widden. Dean Large opened Drybrook’s account with a try and Andy Milner kicked the conversion as well as adding a penalty before Widden responded with a try. The game then entered a long period of stalemate before prop Andy Jones made the game safe with a try again converted by Milner

15th September 2007

Citizen Merit League 1

Drybrook United 20pts Gordon League 17pts

With Drybrook’s original opponents Bream United unable to raise a team, Gordon League’s third string stepped in and almost pulled off a shock victory. League’s team contained a number of experienced players and made life difficult for Drybrook’s young team with the result in doubt right up to the end. For Drybrook Dan Large, Simon Burke and Steve Hale were the try scorers with Steve Skelton adding 1 conversion and a penalty.

8th September 2007

Citizen Merit League 1

Spartans 10pts Drybrook United 15pts

Drybrook’s cause was disrupted early on in this game when both Richard Roberts and Lee Jones had to leave the field with cuts to the head. Roberts’s injury in particular looked serious and eventually required 20 stitches. Both teams tried to play expansive rugby whenever possible and after 30 minutes the scores were locked at 3pts all with Jimmy Ryder kicking Drybrook’s penalty. Right on the stroke of half time winger Damian Mahon chased a kick through and charged down the attempted clearance to score a try for Drybrook. Drybrook lost Mark Castree in the second half through injury and with no more substitutes available manager Chris Treherne was forced to join the action. It did not take him long to make his mark and he burst through a couple of tackles for a try with Ryder adding the extra points. Spartans eventually broke through Drybrook’s defence with 10 minutes remaining for a try but could not add to it in a tense finale.

1st September 2007

Citizen Merit League 1

Cirencester 5pts Drybrook United 6pts

A big defensive effort was the key to success in this game where Drybrook’s second string had to withstand a lot of late pressure to hang on for victory. Drybrook played down the slope in the first half and went into the lead mid way through with an Andy Milner penalty. Cirencester then took the lead with a try to give them the edge at the break Milner restored Drybrook’s lead early in then second half with his second penalty but from then on play was end to end with neither side able to break through. Going into the last quarter Cirencester upped the tempo but Drybrook held out with Danny Auker-Howlett, Chris White and Mitchell Browning particularly deserving of mention.

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