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North Bristol 2nds 47 Frampton Cotterell 2nds 7

TWO scratch sides consisting mainly of 2nd XV players discovered a school pitch near North Bristol’s Almondsbury base to be an oasis of green, firm ground on which to enjoy a competitive game despite the winter’s recent extremes.

Neither side worried about the keen wind or occasional showers, but kept the ball in hand whenever possible.

North opened the scoring when rangy lock Rob Collins grabbed a touchdown, converted by lively No 10 Matt Hazzard.

A great build-up, including the influence of Max Sheppard and Lee Heel, was finished off by North’s hatchet-man flanker Matt Bowden, Hazzard’s conversion making it 14-0.

A blind-side break from Chris Gransden produced a try for man of the match Tom Drury, giving North a 19-0 half-time advantage.

During the half, both sides had made frequent forays into their attack zones where only silly mistakes denied them potential scores.

Several changes at the interval were followed by North’s replacement number 10 Chris Overwood touching down after excellent work from his pack. He converted it himself at 26-0.

There was a string of pick-and-drives which ended with veteran utility player Steve Chappell going over. Overwood’s conversion made it 33-0.

Frampton’s persistence was rewarded with a good try after some great support play on the right and the conversion reduced the leeway to 33-7.

Collins again showed his unusual running style to great effect, enabling Overwood to make a touchdown and drop-convert his own try for 40-7.

The slumbering genius of Andre Samura came to life just before the end, as the young centre’s breathtaking run was finally halted just when Heal’s astounding support run appeared at his shoulder and the vigorous fullback scorched in for the last score, except Overwood’s conversion to make 47-7.

North Bristol scorers: Tries - Chris Overwood (2), Matt Bowden, Steve Chappell, Rob Collins, Tom Drury, Lee Heal; Conversions - Chris Overwood (4), Matt Hazzard (2).

*An early team meeting is required for players this Saturday (12.45pm) to enable new second team coach Nigel Smith to begin pre-match coaching.