By Ian Todd
September 12 2010

In a terrible first half display Bristol conceded 26 points and scored just 5. The second half was more positive but Doncaster were comfortable winners

Doncaster kicked off the game on a lovely afternoon, but from a Bristol point of view that was perhaps the only lovely thing on show.   Doncaster were quickly on to the attack with the enormous fullback McColl making use of the breeze to kick Bristol back to their 22.  They probed the Bristol defence out right before shifting the line of attack back into midfield.  They were too eager, however, and went off their feet at the breakdown to give Bristol a relieving penalty kick.  Another penalty soon followed and Nicky Little sent it towards touch where a rather freakish bounce eventually saw it over the line.

The Bristol pack drove from the lineout before the ball was passed out to Junior Fatialofa, on to Jack Tovey, in to the line from fullback, and then sweetly shipped to Sean Marsden who was able to run in unopposed to the line for an unconverted try.  Five-nil with just minutes gone, but this season has shown us what Bristol can do with an early lead.  Sure enough, retribution was not long delayed when virtually from the restart Little's pass inside was easily intercepted by Boyde who seized his chance to romp over by the posts for a converted try.  Bristol tried to get back on terms but sloppy play at a ruck saw the ball tapped into Doncaster hands to give the initiative back to the visitors.   A penalty just inside the Bristol half shortly followed and Roberts struck his long effort with great aplomb to extend the lead to 5 - 10.

Bristol continued to make simple errors and Doncaster were unfortunate not to grab another try when a knock-on brought an attack to a halt.  Doncaster continued to pile into the attack with the Bristol defence clearly rattled.  The hosts' scrum was under pressure too, not helped by the referee's inability to get "crouch, touch, pause, engage" in the right order and with any consistent timing.  Bristol were penalised, despite some pretty shoddy binding from their opponents, and after the ball had fallen from the tee a couple of times Roberts was successful with his kick to edge Doncaster further in front.  Bristol struggled to mount an attack and simply gave away a happily missed penalty when support failed to materialise.  The Doncaster defence was aggressive and well organised, preventing Bristol from gaining any forward momentum and then force an easy turnover.  Another scrum penalty showed that Roberts' radar was back on target when he kicked his side to a 5 - 16 lead.

Bristol struggled to find any rhythm or any chink in the defensive wall and finally knocked-on to give Doncaster the scrum.  It was in desperate trouble and we saw the horrible sight of a Bristol pack shoved backwards.  Scrum-half Hallam was alert and he grasped the ball as it popped out of the retreating scrum.  He sprinted away with two desperate defenders tracking him back.  Tovey had the pace to catch just as he crossed the line and had the strength to turn Hallam on his back.  It appeared that the ball was held up but must have been touched down because the referee indicated a try.   The conversion from in front of the posts was straightforward and Doncaster now led 5 - 23.

Bristol looked devoid of answers and continued to make basic errors.  Despite this, Bristol did manage to string together some attacking moves Dan Montagu, Tovey and Marsden plugging away.  These thrusts were easily contained but at least gave some faint hope of a revival.  A couple of penalties, sent to touch, allowed Bristol to revert to a tight approach but made little progress in the face of stout defence.  A dominant Doncaster scrum saw Bristol penalised again and this handed Roberts another long-range chance on the stroke of half-time.  He made no mistake and the visitors went in at 5 - 26.

After a shocking first half Bristol had to come out fighting and they forced an early turnover to hammer away on the edge of the 22 but a knock-on was the only result.  However, Bristol got hold of the ball again and Ollie Hayes stormed up to the five metre line.  The support drove in and struggled to find a way over the line.  The ball went out to Dan Norton who dinked the ball into space behind the defence.  Tovey, up in support, was tackled without the ball; seemingly missed by the officials.  Advantage was being played for an earlier Doncaster misdemeanour and Hayes was deservedly forced over the line by the pack for a try.  Replacement Adrian Jarvis converted and it was 12 - 26.

Doncaster were stung into action and made inroads into the Bristol defence through some weak tackling.  Sadly for them, with the try line at their mercy, the final pass was obviously forward.  The Bristol scrum was still under the cosh and yet another penalty was awarded to the visiting side.  Luckily this drifted wide and allowed some respite.  Jarvis sent an immense kick into the Doncaster half that rolled into touch just inches short of the corner flag to get Bristol back into an attacking position.  His kicking from hand continued to keep Doncaster pinned back.  Dan Norton attempted to dance his way round the defence but lacked sufficient space and was closed down.  This permitted Doncaster to move dangerously forward but the Bristol defence now looked much stronger and fierce tackling forced the knock-on.  Bristol edged back at Doncaster but the defensive wall seemed impenetrable.  Bristol lacked inspiration or subtlety; Jarvis kicking from hand was good but did not allow Bristol to regain possession.  Norton looked as if he had finally breached the defence, only to be called back for an earlier infringement.

Opting for a more direct approach, Fatialofa burst into space, handing off two attempted tackles before the ball was dislodged from his clutch by a third.  Bristol were fired-up though, and harried Doncaster into errors.  They were rewarded with a penalty but, alas, were unable to make the drive from the resulting lineout count.  Fatialofa for a second time used his pace and power to take on the Doncaster defence and went close.  Tovey also showed strength to make progress and replacement Jack Adams smashed through in midfield but the pass was very harshly judged to be forward.  Bristol looked very determined now, and Fatialofa was again to the fore and the defence was forced to give away a penalty in its effort to stop him.  The resolute Doncaster defence was under real pressure but by fair means, and foul, were just able to handle the Bristol attacks.  At last Norton was set free by Fatialofa and he flung himself into the corner but, after a brief discussion, the referee ruled no try.  Bristol, to their credit, endeavoured to take more from the game.  A deliberate knock-on (for the second match in succession) was penalised, but not as harshly as it deserved and the resulting scrum proved to be the last action of the game.

Perhaps one of the poorest displays I have ever seen from a Bristol side.  The first half in particular, apart from the opening try, lacked wit, invention and commitment.  The second had to be better and was, with a few players playing with pride.  However, this kind of performance simply is not good enough.  Yes, there were some positives but these were far outweighed by the collective errors that led to such a one-sided first half scoreline.  There is a real lack of confidence at the moment and something must be done.