Cotham Park RFC The closest Rugby club to Clifton in Bristol

Starting XV:

1. James Sutherland
2. Tony O’Regan
3. Jon Williams
4. Andy Tams
5. Will Kite
6. Dave Wells
7. Ollie Squire
8. Jack Butler
9. Damien Myers
10. Andy Day
11. Elliot Broadley
12. Matt Ace
13. Sam Sterling
14. John Woodward
15. Simon Coles
Subs:
16. Ginna
17. Kiwi
18. James Sage
19. Alan Proudfoot
20. Seb Stuart
21. Tom Hicks
22. Tom Aspinwall
23. Nick Comer
24. Pete Cowell
25. Sam Kendrick
26. Jamie Levon

A sweltering afternoon in South Gloucestershire’s rolling hills was the scene for some great running rugby from all 26 players that Cotham took to meet Thornbury’s 3rd XV. A punchy and fractitious first half saw plenty of handbags (not least from myself) and penalties (not least from Dave Wells) as Cotham cemented their superiority in the forwards from the off. The tight five proceeded to prod Thornbury’s ragged scrum about the park, creating clean possession for the backs to experiment and break the gain line. However, it was a blindside move from the forwards, with deft handling and great support that sent James Sutherland roly-poly-ing in for the first of four tries.

Debutant Sam Sterling proved to be the goto man for line breaks in midfield, scything open the lagging defence to set up the second try of the afternoon. Once again, excellent support play from the backrow and then Elliot Broadley on the wing sent the flyer on his way, eventually flicking a pass out the back door to send yours-truly heading for the line, beating the cover defence to make it 10-0 to the visitors.

The teams played out the rest of the first half with plenty of heart, leading to a string of penalties (I counted 33 penalities against the industrious Dave van der Wells) and a number of nasty tackles (on Wellsy), otherwise pleasing the whistle happy referee.

The second forty started with Cotham pinned to their own try line, Thornbury pressing for their first score. However the “big D” again showed no signs of creaking as we cleared our lines. A number of substitutions from the packed bench made no impact on Cotham’s continuity at the scrum, lineout or in open play, the substitutes slotting in perfectly. With discipline improving, the game ebbed and flowed in Cotham’s favour; good running from deep within our own half, and a superb pass from full back Tom Aspinwall put Tom Hicks in for Cotham’s third try.

Cotham’s general – Damien Myers, another debutant – at scrum half continued to boss the forwards, providing more and more good ball for the backs to strut their stuff. Cotham’s defence, not least some massive hits from Sam Sterling saw us record a to-love win, with a superb individual try from Nick Comer providing the icing on the cake of a great team, and indeed squad, performance. A brilliant showing against a good team, 1-15 playing their part in a dominant display; long may this form continue.

Tries: James Sutherland, Matt Ace, Tom Hicks, Nick Comer
Conversions: Sam Sterling

Man of the Match: Sam Sterling
Dick of the Day: Sam Sterling

Matt Ace