Western Counties North

North Bristol 22 Burnham-on-Sea 29

NORTH Bristol failed to hit the heights of their second half performance against Bristol Saracens the previous week and because of this they were left to commiserate with a losing bonus point against a Burnham side that scrapped and defended well all game.

The home side had the better of territory and possession but suffered from missed tackles in the second and third quarters of the game.

Things looked bright for the first 20 minutes as North had their opponents pinned inside their own half and, despite an early penalty miss, they opened the scoring.

A switch of play to the left by Alex Cue saw great hands from John Wood and Ayden Sloman put in full back Dan Snow, who dived into the corner.

He was able to add the extras with a sweetly struck touchline conversion for a 7-0 lead after 16 minutes. This was Snow’s 100th conversion for North Bristol.

Burnham struck back with a Tim Piper penalty after 20 minutes but Snow was on hand to take the score to 10-3 after 34 minutes with a penalty of his own.

From the restart Burnham snatched the ball and a missed tackle saw strong running No. 8 Jordan Wikitera storm in beneath the posts.

Piper's conversion was a formality and it was 10-10.

Burnham snatched the initiative when Matt Love scored their second converted try just on half-time to lead 17-10 at the turnaround.

The visitors clinched the game in the third quarter as Love completed his hat-trick to take them to a 10-29 score, a period where North didn’t get out of second gear.

However, they finished strongly with replacement Kit Sheppard claiming a try after a well controlled catch and drive after 78 minutes.

Sheppard’s try was his first try in league rugby for North Bristol.

Six minutes into injury time impressive centre Jonny Gait put his brother Nick, making his debut, over from 20 metres. Snow's conversion earned a losing bonus point on an ultimately disappointing afternoon.

North Bristol scorers: Tries – Nick Gait, Kit Sheppard, Dan Snow; Conversions – Dan Snow (2); Penalties – Dan Snow.

GRFU South One

Avonmouth 2nds 17 North Bristol 2nds 18

NORTH Bristol’s lack of prop forwards reduced scrums to uncontested throughout.

That said, the game remained full-on and highly competitive right up to the very last minute, with the result in doubt until the final whistle blew.

Lineouts were even, though a little scrappy, and North held the edge in mopping up the subsequent loose ball with back-rowers Matt Bowden and James Harrington to the fore.

Both flankers topped the tackle-count too and demonstrated an admirable appetite for high work-rate and commitment.

North’s half-backs Matt Hazzard and Darren Gillespie worked well together, especially in the first half, while right wing Charlie Furnivall enjoyed a magical match with all he touched turning to gold, including a hat-trick of tries – all with assists from Gillespie and all being fast breaks ending in dribbles to the line for the touch downs.

North earned a 5-0 lead after five minutes from Furnivall’s first touch and Gillespie made it 8-0 soon after with a penalty.

Another Furnivall try took North 13-0 ahead but Avonmouth reduced the arrears to 5-13 with a try of their own by the interval.

North continued to employ an expansive game plan into the second half, although their opponents became more competitive as the game wore on.

That, and some inconsistencies from the referee, brought some edginess into the game which eventually left North fighting for their lives, one man down, for the last ten minutes.

Furnivall’s third try came just after half-time when he ran fully 80metres for the touchdown but ‘Mouth scored a superb try in response with slick handling and running which brought them a converted try at 12-18.

Newcomer Kerr Rawden slotted in well to North’s midfield after half-time but his side were unable to score again.

Indeed ‘Mouth pressed North hard to the very end, scoring a final try wide on the left with only a conversion left to settle the game.

A wayward final Avonmouth goal shot left North victors at 17-18, their first reserve league win at Avonmouth since 2006, in an epic encounter that could have gone either way.

North Bristol scorers: Tries – Charlie Furnivall (3); Penalties – Darren Gillespie.