Sixways

By Pershore Pete
October 9 2010

An entertaining contest saw Bristol compete well with an experienced Worcester side.  Although outscored four tries to two this was, in many ways, Bristol's best performance of the season.  Hopefully this will engender confidence that will let BRistol turn round their season. 

A positive start from Bristol, aided by some errors from Worcester, saw Bristol into the hosts’ 22 before Ollie Hayes burst clear and go close to the line.  Crockett was penalised and Little put Bristol three points up.  Worcester attacked from slapdash Bristol play and advanced into the Bristol 22 following a free-kick at the scrum.  A simple penalty for Goode was their reward as Bristol went offside and the scores were equal. 

Worcester continued to feed off Bristol errors and the visitors’ problems were increased by the sin-binning of James Merriman at a ruck.  The ensuing penalty allowed Goode to push his side 6 – 3 in front.  Bristol tried to attack but a turnover saw a fine cross-field kick open up the Bristol defence.  Great defence from Dan Montagu saw him strip the ball from an attacker and halt the initial danger.  Worcester continued to press but a poor lineout gave Bristol the chance to counter.  An error from Tarscott permitted Bristol to steam down to the five metre line but disappointingly the ball was lost forward.  Benjamin picked up, got the ball out to Tarscott, who showed pace and skill to cut through his former team.  Tackled at the last he was able to pass to another former Bristol player, Crockett who plunged over for a converted try and a 13 – 3 lead. 

A man down, Bristol struggled to contain Worcester.  Garvey, sharp throughout, made a dangerous run only for a tremendous Jack Tovey tackle to bring him down.  Worcester recycled the ball quickly and swept upfield.  This time they were halted by another fine tackle, this from stand-in winger Jack Adams.  Worcester were awarded a penalty that, inevitably, Goode sent over to extend the lead to 16 – 3.  Bristol, although under pressure, continued to play in a positive manner.  Good approach work was let down by frustrating errors.  However, both teams were making mistakes and Worcester, attempting to counterattack, were undone by a forward pass.  The ensuing scrum saw a lovely pass from Richard Bolt release George Watkins into space.  He made no mistake and he threw himself over the line by the posts.  Little converted and it was 16 – 10. 

Worcester looked determined to hit back and they made inroads despite spirited Bristol defence.  However handling errors let them down and Bristol showed good skills and enterprise to push Worcester back following a lineout steal by Iain Grieve just before half-time. 

Bristol made the initial running, and a lightning break from Bolt opened up Worcester.  Merriman backed him up but a knock-on as Bristol tried to follow up was an unsatisfactory conclusion.  Worcester struck back at Bristol with both Crockett and Tarscott to the fore and they were rewarded with another Goode penalty.  Bristol were swiftly back at Worcester following a terrible sliced kick from Garvey.  Bristol attacked off the lineout and Worcester went offside.  Nicky Little restored the gap to 19 -13. 

Worcester claimed the restart and were rapidly up to the Bristol 22.  Frantic defence kept them out for a while but Garvey stepped inside his man and accelerated over the line for a 26 – 13 lead following Goode’s conversion.  A wonderful touchfinder from Goode then took his side well into the Bristol half.  The lineout was poor and Worcester claimed the ball and the forwards hammered over the line, only to have the referee rule that the ball was held up.  Bristol struggled to contain the drive at the scrum and the ball was fired out to Garvey and he crossed for an easy try.  Goode was, unusually, off-target but Worcester held a palindromic 31 – 13 lead. 

Despite these two rapid blows Bristol stuck to their task.  Patient play took Bristol to the Worcester 22 and Junior Fatialofa made a sudden burst into space.  The support was a bit slow in arriving but Ed Barnes was able to send out a refined cross-field kick that Adams only just failed to latch on.  No matter, because the referee was playing advantage and he also showed a yellow card to Balding.  Bristol took the scrum and the depleted Worcester pack strained to hold the Bristol drive.  They were penalised and again Bristol chose to scrum.  Another penalty to Bristol.  Shades of last weekend?  Another scrum.  Bristol tried to move the ball wide before the forwards piled in again.  Adams tried to keep the ball alive, but Bristol just could not break through.  The referee had again played advantage to Bristol and this time Bristol tapped a quick one and Mako Vunipola powered over.  Little converted this well deserved effort and it was 31 – 20. 

Worcester were resolved to snuff out this Bristol revival and poor support play from Bristol made it far too easy for them.  They continued to probe the Bristol defence and edged close to the Bristol line.  Brave defence held them out for a time but Roy Winters just could not resist using his hands at a ruck and we saw the third card of the evening.  The bonus point try was now inevitable and reformed sinner Balding went over for a converted try and a 38 – 20 scoreline. 

A man down, Bristol defiantly sought a way back and a good break from Adams took play back to the hosts but the necessary quick support was lacking.  Bristol held on to possession and continued to attack.  A quick tapped penalty from Little allowed Bristol to push on and Watkins gained a couple of metres.   Bristol moved close to the line  beneath the Worcester posts but an unfortunate knock-on saw Bristol unrewarded at the death.