1st XV
Matches
Sat 17 Sep 2016  ·  Gloucester Premier
Cheltenham Saracens RFC
1st XV
52
14
North Bristol
Cheltenham Saracens 52 North Bristol 14

Cheltenham Saracens 52 North Bristol 14

Jack Kerr19 Sep 2016 - 10:23
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Match Report

Cheltenham Sarries entered their first home game on the back of a win over Longlevens but paid the price, having lost fly-half James Butler to injury.
The visiting side didn't get the good start they'd hoped for, as their kick off somehow landed inside their own half.
The opening stages were a stalemate with both sides exchanging possession, working patient phases before Sarries broke the deadlock. Liam Cooper bagged himself a try after some very strong running from the fly-half Alex Jackson. Medcroft added the extra two and put Sarries 7-0 ahead.
Jackson wasn't satisfied with just an assist and put his own name on the scoresheet, again running through defenders who weren't able to handle the Sarries attack. The angle proved too much for kicker Jack Medcroft, leaving the score at 12-0.
Two minutes later Sarries chalked up more points. Winning a penalty and kicking for touch, the forwards set the lineout allowing Josh Wright to direct the maul and touch down for the third try. Medcroft added the extras, making it Sarries 19-0 North Bristol.
North Bristol clawed a score back to stay in the game, a well rehearsed lineout saw the front jumper catch the throw and pass back down the hooker and the forward v back mismatch resulted in points. The conversion was good, and the scoreboard now read 19-7.
Winger, Will Hewer, secured Sarries bonus point before halftime. The winger put in a grubber kick past his opposite number and the bounce say perfectly to allow him to scoop the ball up and touch down unopposed. Medcroft converted, despite the angle and the first half ended 26-7.
It took only minutes for Sarries to add to their total in the second half, Jackson helping himself to a brace. Medcroft was unable to make it a 7-point score, but Sarries extended their lead to 31-7.
Outside centre, Luke Morgan, added try number six. Jackson's looping kick into open space saw the North Bristol team fail to react and the ball bounced at the perfect height for Morgan who caught the ball and tapped down almost unopposed. Medcroft secured an extra two from the tee.
North Bristol gained another try as they started to work phase after phase. Eventually their patience paid as they crashed over just left of the posts, resulting in an easy conversion. The score now stood at 38-14.
Jack Lawrenson was the next name to end up on the list of scorers, as the maul did the business deep in the North Bristol half, allowing just enough space for the inside centre to receive a pass and break through a tackle to go over. Medcroft kept his cool to add two more and Sarries lead grew to 45-14.
With minutes left Sarries grabbed another try after fantastic running from Don Richardson and Luke Morgan. Medcroft added two more from the tee and Sarries sat comfortably in the lead, 52-14.
In the dying seconds, Richardson saw himself through again, but his offload left instead of right found the tracking North Bristol winger, who kicked the ball into touch to bring an end to the game.

Match details

Match date

Sat 17 Sep 2016

Kickoff

15:00

Competition

Gloucester Premier

League position

6
Cheltenham Saracens
8
North Bristol
Team overview
Further reading