Gloucester Premier

Dursley 14 Old Richians 13

DURSLEY made it two league wins from two games after coming out on top by just one point against Old Richians.

The sides had never met before as they swapped divisions three seasons ago when Dursley were promoted into Gloucester Premier.

Dursley made a strong start and it took only three minutes and some good vision from scrum half Tom Broomfield to put hooker Alex Budd through to score with fly half Grant Boucher adding the conversion.

The hosts worked hard at the breakdown with winger Brad Winchle and flankers Harry Lea and Olli Steel excelling.

Richians pressure was thwarted with Broomfield, Boucher and full back Olli Halford putting in some well placed clearance kicks.

Midway through the half, second row Jack Western made some hard yards from a crash ball with support from prop Andy Plumridge and second row Sam Porter.

With ten minutes of the half left to play Richians crossed the line but it was judged to be a double movement.

Richians kept up the pressure and were rewarded with a converted score from a five-metre lineout and a powerful drive to level the score at 7-7.

An injury to prop Ash Young brought Daryl Cross into the fray. Throughout the first half the Dursley scrum was under pressure but it held strong in the final seconds on their own five-metre line.

Both teams made a scrappy start to the second half with a number of handling errors.

Just minutes in an injury to Halford saw Jamie Hayward move to fullback with James Watkins joining the centre.

Following a brilliant line cut by Budd, Dursley patiently worked through their phases and thought they scored after 15 minutes, but they were judged to have been held up.

Midway through the half from a scrum just outside the Richians five-metre line captain Scott Udal picked up the ball as it popped out at the side and fended off several defenders to score with Boucher adding the conversion to make it 14-7.

Young returned to the pitch for Cross.

Strong breaks by centre Damien Cummings and winger Josh Bailey kept Dursley on the attack but minutes later Richians reduced the deficit from a penalty.

With only a couple of minutes of normal time left to play Richians closed the gap to 14-13 from another penalty.

Boucher was unlucky not to extend Dursley’s lead in the closing minutes from a penalty.

Richians pressed to the end and were firmly camped in the red zone before the referee blew for the end of the match.

Dursley are looking forward to their next fixture away against old adversaries Southmead on Saturday.