North Bristol seconds NORTH Bristol were forced to field a rejigged line-up, when several players arrived late and were made to work hard by Barbarians, whose heavy pack pressurised the visitors in the opening stages.

A top-rate North Bristol back row of Matt Bowden, Al Featherstone and Joey O’Leary were outstanding throughout however.

Great driving play from the latter two set up North’s first score and was followed by a good hand-off and feed from Ben Purdy, for Nick Collins to finish off with a try on the right.

It was also drop-kick converted by Jim Hitchman for lack of a kicking tee.

With the scrum creaking, North were forced to defend for a long period by Barbarians’ eager eight, who showed their keen support play with a skilful interchange culminating in a try to reach 5-7.

Barbarians pack again forced the issue and scored a second try from a driven maul, though they were unable to convert in the testing windy conditions.

North’s pack toiled bravely on to release Jim Hitchman, whose try highlighted an excellent personal performance, while North resumed the lead at 10-12.

North Bristol used three half backs during the match and each one created problems for the home team, yet all three, Chris Gransdon, Ollie Rigby and Matt Hazard, showed occasional hesitancy and inconsistency, along with flashes of brilliance.

Sadly, prop Perves Nabi’s back injury removed him from the fray and scrums had to go uncontested thereafter.

When Ollie Rigby moved to scrum-half, he began to make some scintillating breaks from audacious dummies, one of which brought him a run to the line from 22 metres, bringing North to 10-17.

Replacement wing, Paul Romaniuk, showed excellent pace to scorch in from near half-way for North’s fourth try, after great handling down North Bristol’s back line. Centre Ben Purdy’s strong running and tackling were a feature of North’s excellent second-half dominance.

This was only once challenged near the end, when Barbarians ran from deep for a well-taken try.

However, North Bristol dug in and managed to overcome the Barbarians’ challenge to come through by 17-22 at the end of the match.