Frampton Cotterell 10 North Bristol 15
Fram unlucky in season opener
And here we are again, where did the summer go……………..
What a joy it is to be back on a rugby pitch again and to welcome our visitors today, North Bristol.
Always a closely fought game and today was no different. With the school holidays coming to an end Frampton were several players so were thankful to North Bristol for the loan of a couple of their lads.
A very even start saw both teams vying for territory. A break through by NB nearly saw the opening score but for a good stopping tackle by Nikolas. The visitors took the lead shortly afterwards though thanks to a very ingenious cross kick which saw the unmarked player pick up and score in the corner. The lead was nearly extended when following a scrum the ball was collected by NB and a weaving run saw them cross the line but the ball was not grounded correctly and play was called back. Several try saving tackles by Matt, Nikolas and Jamie kept the visitors from increasing their lead and NB ended the quarter with a 5-0 lead.
The coaches got to work in the break and soon after the restart Fram were level. Nikolas picked up and his pass found Matt who in turn found Ollie, a further pass to Lewis and his determined run beating several players saw him cross the line. Late on in the quarter though NB were ahead again when the ball was stolen and ran through for the score and the visitors ended the half 10-5 ahead.
There was nothing between the sides as the third period began, however another great cross kick found the unmarked NB player and a kindly bounce gave them the score. Some great defending by Charlie and Marcus kept the visitors at bay as the period came to an end.
Within minutes of the restart Fram nearly scored when Matt broke through but he was held up a matter of metres from the line. The pressure continued throughout the quarter as Fram pushed forward and they got their reward late on when a surging run by Gabe was too strong for the NB defence and he powered his way across the line to reduce the score to 10-15. Despite several powerful runs by Jamie with great support from Jack and Mike NB just held on for the win.
What a great start to the season from the boys in green especially as it was only the second session for a lot of the players. A great effort and a very encouraging start, well done team !