| Thornbury 33 - 7 Old Centralians | |
| League, Saturday 24 Oct 2009 | match photos |
| Selection | |||
| Forwards | Backs | ||
 | Seb Bonizzi Loose Head |  | Stuart Adams Scrum Half |
| Mike Sander Hooker |  | Wayne Underwood Fly Half |
 | Jon Day Tight Head | | Craig Beyer Left Wing |
| Giles Bristol Second Row | | Dave Mathews Inside Centre |
 | Alex Kane Second Row | Tim Stephens Outside Centre | |
| Tom Guzman Blindside Flanker |  | Dan Hussey Right Wing |
 | Jack Hussey Openside Flanker |  | Liam Rinn Full Back |
 | George Maggs Number Eight | ||
| Replacements | |||
| Adam Hodgkins Forwards Replacement | | Ollie Fleming Backs Replacement |
| James Murray Forwards Replacement | ||
| Points Scorers | |||||
| Player | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points |
| Alex Kane | 1 | 5 | |||
| Tim Stephens | 1 | 2 | 3 | 18 | |
| Dave Mathews | 1 | 5 | |||
| Jack Hussey | 1 | 5 | Total | 4 | 2 | 3 | 33 |
| Man of the match | vote | |
 | George Maggs has received the majority of the 4 votes that have been cast. | |
| Report |
| posted at 19:12 on Sunday 25 October '09 by Dave Fox |
|
Thornbury 33 Old Centralians 7 Thornbury delivered their best performance of the season scoring four tries and dominating a tenacious Old Centralians side in blustery conditions. The win moves Thornbury to third in the table ahead of Stroud on points scored. Both sides went into the game on the back of good recent wins, Thornbury having defeated Stroud and North Bristol whilst Old Centralians had defeated Southmead and Keynsham, and had scored well in most of their games. Sam Olde was unavailable for Thornbury so Liam Rinn moved to fullback with fit-again Stuart Adams returning at scrum half. Giles Bristol started in the second row with James Murray stepping down to the bench. He was joined there by Adam Hodgkins who following a run-out for the second XV the previous weekend was declared fit to return to first team duty. There was no mellow fruitfulness on this Autumn afternoon. The wind blew up the pitch and in the first half Thornbury played downhill into a gale. Three minutes into the game Old Centralians outside half Craig Anderson attempted a penalty from inside his own half but it sailed wide. Old Cents enjoyed the benefit of the wind and Thorns found it difficult to clear their lines, the wind holding up the ball and blowing it into touch deep in Thornbury territory. Eventually Tim Stephens cleared into the Old Cents half. George Maggs stole the lineout and the backs moved the ball quickly out to Dan Hussey. He made good ground before the ball was moved infield and the visitors infringed. Tim Stephens missed with the difficult penalty attempt. However after twenty-one minutes they were penalised again and a Stephens penalty from the ‘22’ opened the scoring. Thorns moved the ball whenever they could giving it width and making their opponents think and cover. In George Maggs Thorns had a ball carrier that Old Cents couldn’t handle. However, the visitors’ backs were dangerous and when a cross kick was gathered by Jamie Cole the wing skinned three Thornbury backs on a run upfield which showed why he had scored a hat-full of tries since joining Old Centralians from Coney Hill. However, Cole had little opportunity to shine as the Thornbury pack enjoyed tight and loose superiority and the whole team played controlled rugby. The scrum which had struggled to the extent that the scrummaging machine took strikes against the head in early September training was now tight and powerful and the front row which consists of two hookers and a second row took the upper hand. The pack, Seb, Mike and JD in particular, deserve the plaudits for their hard work, and Gareth Llewellyn and his team for their coaching skills. Stephens kicked a second penalty but Thorns scored an own goal shortly afterwards. From the restart Old Cents fullback Lewis May gathered a kick downfield and slipped between Dan Hussey and Liam Rinn before kicking ahead. Thorns were guilty of ball-watching as May gathered the ball and dived between the posts. Anderson converted and Old Centralians were suddenly 7-6 ahead. Undeterred by this setback, Thornbury continued to secure tight ball and win turnover. Dai Matthews missed with a drop goal attempt then Wayne Underwood and George Maggs opened the defence but the scoring pass from Tim Stephens to Jon Day was adjudged forward. Seconds later Tom Guzman put JD into space but he was tackled inches from the line. The forwards tried to drive over and Mike Sander was stopped just short. Stuart Adams moved the ball wide to Matthews who dummied the covering back row and raced through the gap for the try. Tim Stephens converted and Thorns went into the break 13-7 ahead. Guests of match sponsors Cotswold Homes had barely the chance to finish their half-time drinks before Thornbury moved further ahead. Within 38 seconds of the restart Wayne Underwood made a half break which Dave Matthews continued and fed Jack Hussey who finished off the move despite the attention of two startled defenders. The conversion missed but Thorns were two scores ahead at 18-7. Thorns continued to move the ball quickly but brought variety into the back play, each of the inside backs having a run themselves one moment, passing out wide the next. A deft cross kick was taken by Liam Rinn but he was adjudged to have been in front of the kicker, a miss-move put Dan Hussey into space off his wing but a visiting back several miles offside got in the way. Stuart Adams took a tapped penalty and Stephens strode over but the try was disallowed because the penalty was taken from the wrong place. One more try would put the game out of Old Centralians reach. Adam Hodgkins replaced Jon Day and within seconds rain which had seemed inevitable since the darkening sky and heavy clouds had arrived at the end of the first half poured down for five minutes. A period of scrappy play ensued as the conditions prevented the earlier movement of the ball so the forwards put the ball up the jumper and demonstrated their skill at the rolling maul, one such maul from a lineout going fifteen metres upfield. James Murray came on for Giles Bristol and shortly afterwards Ollie Fleming came on for Liam Rinn with the versatile Craig Beyer moving to fullback. Thornbury continued to press and continued to be denied close to the line. Maggs was penalised for a double movement trying to score from a scrum five metres from the visitors’ line but the high tempo play continued, with coach Gareth Llewellyn encouraging the taking of tapped penalties. The pace of the game and the number of tackles Old Centralians were making was taking its toll as they began to look tired. They were becoming frustrated and when penalised close to half way they conceded a further ten metres for arguing and Stephens kicked his third penalty. Shortly afterwards Old Cents made a rare excursion into the Thornbury ‘22’ and were awarded an attacking lineout but Maggs stole the ball and it was cleared. The game was put out of Old Centralians reach three minutes before the end of normal time when Alex Kane took a lineout eight metres from the visitors’ line and brushed aside a series of challenges to score. Thorns led 26-7 and with the game won points difference was order of the day. From the restart Old Cents went back onto the attack and James Murray was yellow-carded for hands in the ruck in the ‘red zone’. The game then became afflicted with the recent curse of uncontested scrums when a second Old Centralians front rower was injured. As the game went into stoppage time Adam Hodgkins sprinted through a gap in the defence on the ten metre line. He ran to the ‘22’, drew the fullback but his pass out to Dan Hussey didn’t go to hand. It would have been a try-scoring pass but Thorns were not to be denied as good continuity and vision made the most of a gap in the back-tracking defence for Tim Stephens to score. He then converted his try and seconds later the referee blew for the end of the match with Thornbury deserved victors at 33-7. Thornbury were able to play the game they wanted from kick-off to final whistle. It must be stressed that Old Centralians are a decent side but Thorns were able to inflict their biggest defeat of the season. The team were confident, quick-thinking and the support play was particularly good. The number of turnovers were reduced but the most impressive part was the forward performance. Whilst Old Centralians don’t have the strongest pack in the division they are workmanlike and Thorns did well to overcome and dominate them. Once again it was George Maggs who caught the eye with powerful running, good defence and excellent support and encouragement. In a team of fine performers he was the key man and was awarded players man-of-the-match, consuming the obligatory pint in the bar after the game without spilling a drop, which impressed Francis Baron, Chief Executive of the RFU who Gloucestershire RFU Chairman Geoff Davies had brought along after the game to introduce him to the delights of Coopers Farm. Next Saturday Thornbury have a mouth-watering encounter with Old Reds in Stockwood. This will be a four-pointer, a top of the table encounter and one which will give a clear indication of how good Thornbury are. Scorers: Thornbury: tries – Dai Matthews, Jack Hussey, Alex Kane, Tim Stephens; conversions – Tim Stephens (2); penalties – Tim Stephens (3) Old Centralians: try – Lewis May; conversion – Craig Anderson Teams: Thornbury: Liam Rinn; Dan Hussey, Tim Stephens, Dai Matthews, Craig Beyer; Wayne Underwood, Stuart Adams; Seb Bonizzi, Mike Sander (c), Jon Day, Giles Bristol, Alex Kane, Tom Guzman, Jack Hussey, George Maggs. Replacements: Adam Hodgkins for Day, James Murray for Bristol, Ollie Fleming for Rinn Old Centralians: Lewis May; Jamie Cole, Michael Mumford, Ross Stevens, Joe Preece; Craig Anderson, Richard Preece, Sam Preece, Matt Vye, Scott Fritchley, Mike Owen, Peter Willetts, Brett Gardner, Dale Cookwest, Rich Pinkney (c) Reps; Dean Wallington, Kieron Blackmore Referee: Tom Picton (Bristol Society) |