Gloucester Premier League

Berry Hill 3 Chipping Sodbury 52

THE GLOUCESTER Premier League table shows that Chipping Sodbury have the meanest of defences and, during their clash with Berry Hill, they were forced to prove it.

At the break, Sodbury were 3-14 up but had made only three visits to Berry Hill’s 22.

Hill kept their visitors in their own 22 for the majority of the first half. The fact that only two penalties and three points were conceded says everything about the Sodbury discipline.

The first try saw the ball moved through four sets of hands before finding Luke Butters to finish.

On 30 minutes, skipper Peter Butcher turned down an easy three-pointer in front of the posts. Dan Bradley found touch five metres out.

Butcher caught the ball and the drive was set-up. Player-coach Duncan Bell controlled things brilliantly to go over for a try.

Hill missed an early penalty and they were still causing problems at the breakdown for Sodbury.

The first of six second half tries came when Bradley, not for the first time this season, slipped through gaps the opposition didn’t even know were there for his first try.

When Hill kicked long and loosely into Sods’ 22, Butters collected the ball.

His sizzling fifty metre break was tracked by Bell, who drew his man and popped the ball to Cawston.

Not known for his pace, Cawston turned the form book on its head to outstrip the cover for a spectacular try.

From the restart, Bell rose highest to field the ball.

He passed to Niall Kincaid and it was his basketball-bounce pass that made Hill’s defence check itself.

Bradley scooped it up and once more ghosted through a gap. With sixty metres to cover, his balanced running saw him swerve around and skip out of tackles as he bagged his brace.

Despite a score of 3-33 as the game crept into the final quarter, Berry Hill kept their heads up and forced Sodbury to defend a bit more.

But with Bradley, Pullen and Jon Cook prowling around in midfield, their task was an uphill one.

On a rare visit to Sods’ 22, the ball was turned over.

Tom Farthing seized the opportunity and broke free. In close support were Butcher and Bradley, who also made good ground until the man of the match Butters cruised into passing range.

Once he had the ball in his hands his second try was a formality.

At the restart, Farthing elevated himself.

Once on the ground he barged his way through two tackles and passed to Jon Cook. He gave it to Butcher to score.

As the game entered the final minutes, Sodbury had Hill camped 10m from their own try line.

The home side cracked and conceded a penalty. While Sodbury procrastinated over what to do, Pullen pounced.

He tapped the ball and went himself, proving too much for the punch-drunk defence to stop a man who looks like he’s wearing a muscle jacket.

This brought up fifty points and it was left to the educated boot of Bradley to improve it.

In doing so, Bradley took his personal haul for the game to 22 points.