Rugby - Cirencester U14 (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Rugby - Cirencester U14

Dursley 5 Cirencester 17

Cirencester played away at Dursley for their second match of the opening round of the County Cup.

Cirencester played the first half uphill into the bitter blustery wind. The game started with the visitors taking the ball deep into the home sides 22m where they seemed to set up camp.

Several early attempts at the score line by forwards Sean Loveridge and David Wheeler were fought off by a solid Dursley defence. A penalty resulted from George Lawson failing to release the ball in a tackle, which gave the home side an opportunity to clear the ball down the field.

The ball was collected by full back Tim Jenkins who made a good run back at the defenders, passing out to the left at the half way line to Will Bradley, who tried to chip a kick over the advancing Dursley backs.

He failed to make proper contact with the ball, which bounced wildly and the defenders could not get their hands on it. Playing the advantage from a Dursley knock on, Bradley chipped again twice and dived onto the ball as it crossed the score line for the first 5 points to Cirencester.

Dursley looked determined to push the play back to the visitors. A Dursley scrum on the half way line saw the ball moving swiftly out to their wing, who took advantage of open ground to sprint through to within 5m of the Cirencester line. Ben Forshaw made a lightening dash across the pitch to effect a perfect tackle. This allowed the Cirencester defence to form up and at half time the score remained to their favour.

The second half started with Scott Coombes being brought into the scrum and Alex Young moving from second row to flanker. The forwards worked well as a pack and hooker Harry Vincent showed form in the scrum, winning good balls. Brothers Nick and Malc (Captain) Farnan displayed strong leadership with their ferocious tackling, especially when faced with the large Dursley prop, putting the opposition under consistent pressure.

Failing to retreat 10m in time from a penalty in the centre of the pitch gave Dursley easy advance up the pitch, which they used and their winger weaved through to draw the scores equal.

Early after the restart Cirencester winger James Broughton collected a wide pass from scrum half Jamie McGilick and saw space on the left to run through. The Dursley backs could not catch him in time and Broughtons try put Cirencester back into the lead.

There was no place for complacency and an attack by Dursley on the left wing was thwarted only by an impressive tackle by Young, who in his first season for the team, is displaying an inspirational style of play. Stand off Tom Ginnever had several strong runs into the defenders 22m, but he just could not break through.

The Cirencester forwards led by Loveridge, who showed new found maturity and composure, were solid in their play throughout the game. Their pressure on Dursley was consistent but extracting the ball from rucks was letting them down. In the closing minutes it was sharp eyed Lawson who swooped like a hawk on a lose ball at the back of a Dursley ruck on their score line to touch down and Ginnever converted for the full 7 points, bringing the final score to Dursley 5, Cirencester 17.