Is this ball out?

By Ian Todd
April 11 2010

A single try in the first half was scant reflection of the territorial dominance of Bristol, but the second saw them cut loose in fine style to put Albion to the sword and claim the bonus point victory.

In gorgeous weather conditions, in marked contrast with the earlier league encounter, Plymouth kicked off.  This presaged a brief exchange of kicks before Lee Robinson broke clear out right.  The ball was switched back left to Luke Eves who made good ground before Plymouth gave away a penalty.  Bristol went for touch but Plymouth claimed the lineout, in the first of a number of poor Bristol efforts.  However, Bristol kept up the pressure on the host side and the pack mauled the ball to the Plymouth 22 metre line.  The ball went out to Luke Eves who passed forward to Junior Fatialofa (the first of many forward passes from both teams that the officials failed to pick up).  The pack took play on and mauled ever closer and drove over under the posts with James Phillips claiming the try.  Adrian Jarvis converted for a 0 - 7 lead with just mintes played.

Bristol moved straight back onto the attack but sloppy passing out to the isolated winger, Darren Crompton, halted the move.  After the bright opening Bristol struggled to find a way through and were penalised for holding on to allow Plymouth into the Bristol half for the first time.  They attacked out left, only to knock on in midfield.  A dominant Bristol scrum shoved Plymouth back and they were penalised for standing up.  Jarvis poked the kick into the Plymouth 22 and the forwards drove from the lineout.  Eves broke into midfield and the ball was recycled just as Plymouth were penalised once again.  Typically Bristol went for touch.  The throw was to the front of the line and the drive went in.  Jarvis fed Junior Fatialofa but he failed to hold onto the pass.  Plymouth cleared the ball long, only for Tom Arscott to return it with interest.  Phillips took play on before the ball was switched left.  A sudden breakdown allowed the Mercer to sprint forward to sow panic in the Bristol ranks and only an unfortunate bounce from his kick ahead allowed Bristol to escape without cost.  Bristol infringed at the breakdown but the penalty kick was surprisingly wide off the posts.

For a while Plymouth looked a much more confident side, but poor decision making and execution prevented them making any real inroads.  A kick out on the full then took play right back to their 10 mete line.  A lovely pick-up from Jarvis appeared to set up a dangerous move but the theme of the first half, poor ball retention, prevented any real progress.  A dangerous run from Luke Arscott similarly ended with the ball knocked on.  A fine kick from Davies took play back into the Bristol half and let them edge closer to the Bristol line before a poor kick was well marked by Tarscott.  Any hope of a Bristol score faded when a succession of poor passes culminated in a terrible pass from Robinson to Eves that was again knocked on.  Neither side looked able to impose any pattern on the game.  Bristol threatened again when Robinson seemed to be given a clear run for the line, but the referee ruled that the (wrong) pass had gone forward.  The atrocious conditions were clearly having a detrimental effect on the Bristol handling.  With the half moving to its close a Plymouth scrum struggled and the ball shot out of the back.  Jason Spice harried his opposite number who was forced to hold on in the tackle.  Jarvis stepped up for the kick to take Bristol into a 0 - 10 lead.  There was still time for Tarscott to dance through the onrushing defence but possession was again given up to permit Plymouth a last attack of the half that was thwarted by good defence from Robinson.

Bristol showed their ruthlessness right from the outset of the second half.  Phillips carried the ball purposefully; the ball was slipped out to the left with Ross Johnston cutting a clever line to pop up the ball for Fatialofa who held on to the ball to power over despite the best efforts of the defenders.  Jarvis struck the conversion right in front of the posts to take the score to 0 - 17 with less then a minute of the half gone.

Plymouth attempted to hit back but their move broke down with a forward pass immediately followed by offside.  There was another moment of danger when a missed tackle let the Plymouth lock Skelding rush through before frantic defence closed him down.  Stung by this lapse Bristol took the game away from the hosts in emphatic fashion.  They patiently built territory with forwards and backs linking well.  Five metres out the ball was taken on by the neatly coiffed Fatialofa who was driven to the line by the pack.  He clearly reached forward to the line but the referee was hopelessly out of position (one of his touch judges struggled to keep up with play throughout).  Initially it looked as though he was going to signal that the ball was held up but he was persuaded to consult at length with the other touch judge and the try was awarded.  Jarvis added the extras for a 0 - 24 lead.

Plymouth really had to respond now if they were to salvage anything from the match but poor handling remained their theme and Bristol were straight back looking for the try scoring bonus point.  Initially it appeared as though the first opportunity had been squandered when Jarvis made a rare error by failing to make a long touch from a penalty, but Plymouth's kick still left Bristol with a lineout rather further out.  The pack drove impressively and the defence had no response.  Phillips was over for a deserved second  try, duly converted for 0 - 31 lead that fully reflected Bristol's second half dominance.

The Plymouth restart failed to make ten metres and the resulting scrum was then penalised to compound their woes.  Lee Robinson surged forward and looked destined to score but the flailing arm of the final defender dislodged the ball from his hands.  This seemed to hint at a relaxation in the intensity of the Bristol performance and Plymouth promptly scored from virtually their only visit to the Bristol half.  A shocking missed tackle, or maybe just being so far out of position that the tackle could not be made, allowed a break into midfield and the try was a near formality for Hopper who cruised in untouched.  Davies converted to make it 7 - 31.

A fine break from replacement Robbie Shaw might have freed Luke Arscott but for the ball being knocked from his grasp as he drove to the line.  However Robinson's reward for sterling efforts right through the game was soon to come when the ball shot out of back of the Plymouth scrum and Shaw smartly picked up by Shaw who sprinted into space and fed the supporting Robinson who demonstrated a nice swerve as well as his trademark strength to go over for a converted try and a 7 - 38 lead.  There was still plenty of time for more action but play became increasingly slapdash and little was achieved.  Right at the death it appeared that Plymouth might score following a great break down the right wing followed by a succession of forward passes before the defence forced the ball carrier into touch.