Dursley 17 Painswick 7

DURSLEY First XV claimed the Stroud Junior Combination Cup defeating Painswick Seconds at Fromehall Park, Stroud, on Sunday.

They made a lively start, pinning their opponents in their own half for long periods, with forwards Allen, Morse, Noble, Winterbottom, Thompson, Niblett, Woodward and Scott a solid driving force running.

This allowed scrum-half Brimble and fly-half Powell to dictate the game and centres Jones and Ford both came close to scoring in the opening exchanges but Painswick defended superbly. This set the pattern. Dursley were rampant with wingers Brown and Sheldon able to exploit the wide pitch.

The first score came from Dursley after a penalty on the Painswick 22 saw a rehearsed forward move. Noble went on a battering run and good ball from the ruck saw scrum half Brimble quickly passed on the blind side to Scott, who spun off a tackler to score at full stretch.

Painswick then stretched Dursley. Good plays from their forwards saw them edge towards the line. Then after some good interpassing their prop scored a converted try. The game was now hotting up and Dursley began to impose more and more. Strong tackling made sure Painswick would not break through again.

The second half started at an extreme pace with the heat of the day showing no effect on players. Hooker Morse stole the ball from Painswick on the restart, set up a ruck for Brimble to unleash No 8 Woodward into the defence and close support from Scott saw him collect a pass from the tackle. Scott then drove for the line and, as the defence committed themselves to tackle, he slipped a pass to on-rushing prop Allen who powered over the line.

Dursley were in no mood to make any serious errors and they kept Painswick in their own half for much of the time. Powell was operating the back line well and again Jones and Ford were making superb headway and, with Dursley's back row of Niblett, Scott and Woodward seemingly covering every blade of grass to maintain possession, the onus was on Dursley to score next.

Brimble unleashed Sheldon who came close. Then a clever chip and chase saw the captain nearly score but the ball bounced out of his reach and over the try line. Full-back Park then stepped into an attacking line and scored the try that effectively buried Painswick . With 15 minutes left second row Winterbottom made way for Walkley to return and Sheldon made way for the pacey Frost to make an impact. Fresh legs gave Dursley the edge to see the game through without conceding another score. Squad members not used on the day were Fry, Brown and Price.

Two men of the match were awarded to Dursley: hooker Morse and centre Jones.

This week Dursley host Bradford-on-Avon in their annual memorial game at 2.30pm.