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Dursley Rugby Football Club

Dursley R.F.C.

Registered as a Community Amateur Sports Club CASC since 2004

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Latest News

Dursley XV vs. Bradford on Avon

25th February 2006

Match Date:	Saturday 25th February
Opposition:	Bradford on Avon
Venue:	Bradford on Avon

MARK ACKERMAN MEMORIAL MATCH

A Dursley side mixing players across the teams travelled to Bradford-on-Avon to play this match in memory of Mark Ackerman.

Mark was a very popular member of Dursley Rugby Club, who died in a tragic farm accident in 1996. He had also played for Bradford, and this match in his memory has taken place between the two clubs ever since.

Playing down a slight slope, Dursley started the match with the advantage of a strong wind, and knew that using this effectively would be a key to the match. They started strongly, and camped in the Bradford 22 for most of the first quarter, but stout defence kept them out. Close support work from the marauding back-row of Woodward, Perry and Davies constantly asked questions of the Bradford tacklers, and eventually the ball came to young 2^nd row Matt Sprague, who galloped through several tacklers to cross the line. 5-0 Dursley.

The half continued in similar vein, with Dursley dominating proceedings, and Bradford struggling to hang on to the ball or any decent territory. Dursley began to control the scrum, where the front row of Noble, McNally and Stamp took a couple against the head, and Thompson and Sprague dominated the line-out on opposition ball as well as their own. As a result, No 8 Mark Perry scored 2 well-taken tries, both from 5 metre scrum pick-ups following excellent build up down the right wing where 17 year old Joe Bilous made good ground. With young fly-half Mike Kerr kicking a conversion and a penalty, the halftime score of 20-0 to Dursley sounded healthy enough, but with the strong wind now in Bradford’s favour, the game would turn on the early stages of the 2^nd half.

As it turned out, Dursley were able to dominate the first 25 minutes of the 2^nd half through a combination of sensible kicking from Kerr and scrum-half Rich Oldham, and strong running from centres Ball and Jones, and left wing Luke Sykes. The tactical substitutions of Smith and Price in the front-row, and Brooks in the back row also paid off, and with full-back Jon Kerry dealing calmly with anything that Bradford kicked at him, it became clear that Dursley had played the wind very well in the first period, and that Bradford were finding it more difficult.

Early on centre Ball powered over for a try from a scrum 22 metres out, and with Kerr adding the extras, Dursley looked in complete control.

Two late tries by the home side were deserved reward for them never giving up, and the final score of 27-10 to Dursley meant that the Stinchcombe based side would take back the memorial cup in what is expected to be the last match of it’s kind between the 2 clubs.

After the match, the presentation included Dursley skipper for the day Alan Ball recalling fond memories of Mark for whom the match had been a fitting tribute – hard and competitive but also fair and sportsmanlike.
 

Match report: Simon Bilous

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