Stroud 40

Old Bristolians 20

Stroud returned to form as they scored six super tries to beat Old Bristolians writes Sean Moore.

O.B.s had the lion’s share of territory but their inventive backs foundered on a sturdy Stroud defence.

The opening score followed on from a strong break by Kurtis Herbert.

This led to several phases on the O.B.s twenty-two and the ball went out to Jordan Phipps via some very fluent passing.

He used his speed to slide through a gap and race over in the corner. Herbert, with a magnificent kick scored the first of his five successful conversions.

Joe Hoyle was next to cross when he intercepted and left himself eighty metres to the line.

He just managed to outstrip the defence to score under the posts but injured himself in the process and had to go off.

The forwards gained the edge in the scrums, frequently sending the O.B.s pack backwards. Sam Hester provided a masterclass in tactical kicking whilst the returning Dan Gordon used his lengthy passing to great effect.

Following a textbook lineout and drive Tom Flanagan exploded from a maul to dive over for a well-deserved try to make it 21-13.

Phipps added to his tally following patient build-up through many phases.

This led to Gordon providing a long miss-pass, enabling Phipps to go over in the corner.

O.B.s still remained in contention and the Stroud defence was put to the test but once again came up trumps.

An excellent scrum and drive saw Rob Higgins pick up and go blind. He offloaded to Joe Ashenford who drew the defence before delivering the perfect pass to Pete Sykes who had a long way to go to the line.

He left the fullback for dead with his swerve and put on the afterburners to race clear before coasting over under the posts, 35-13.

Herbert added the icing when his blockbusting run to the line saw him go over in the corner as Stroud recorded a fine victory.