Cirencester 2nds 7 Dursley United 39

DURSLEY fielded a classy second team in this big derby match, with the absence of captain Alan Smith through injury the only omission from what would have been a full strength line-up.

The ageing squad boasted a plethora of experience with six players over 40 and a further six over 35 years of age. Add to the mix a couple of 17-year-old flying wingers and an ex-Gloucester number eight and you have the makings of a fairly useful team.

From the receipt of the ball at the kick-off it was clearly evident that the might of Nick Lea, Greg Keyse and Rich Brooks was going to be a deciding factor in the encounter as their surging runs broke open the Cirencester defences.

United took the lead in under ten minutes. A lineout on the Cirencester five metre line was caught at the front by Ted Thompson. A maul was formed and was driven forward, and the ball was moved to the back and as it crossed the home team's line captain for the day Benny Price dropped to the ground to claim a five-pointer.

The advantage was increased further when good work from the forwards moved the game to wide on the right. Tom Lister at scrum half quickly got the backs up on their toes with a sweet pass to half back partner Rich Oldham, who shimmied across the park and popped a pass to Alan Ball.

Cutting back against the direction of the play Ball wrong-footed a number of defenders before touching down the first of his two tries. Oldham sent the conversion over, extending the lead to 12 points.

Being dominated in virtually every area of the game gave rise to Cirencester giving away numerous penalties for infringements around the rucks and mauls. From one such penalty the power of Nick Lea saw him break three or four tackles before crashing over for Dursley's third try.

Another penalty almost straight after the restart gave Oldham the chance to slot over a three-pointer.

With a 20-point lead Dursley started to throw the ball around and entertain the crowd, with forwards and backs combining well in open play to move the ball downfield. Tom Lister needed no invitation when the Cirencester defences parted and he darted over from close range to score. A superb conversion from Mike Hare from wide out added to the points total.

The Maroon and Ambers, sporting their new Smiths (Gloucester) Ltd-sponsored shirts, then made wholesale changes, and on to the field of play came Russ and Stu Peacey, Matt Sprague and Mark Smith. All made their contribution to the game with Sprague's fantastic lineout jumping giving Dursley a new dimension to their game. Alan Ball scored his second try of the game, simply cruising through the home side's crumbling defences, and he converted his own try.

The final Dursley try was the try of the game and it came from youngster Simon Cole. Receiving the ball deep in his own half his strength and pace saw him go through four tackles before touching down between the posts. Oldham converted. Cirencester did manage to score some consolation points as the final whistle approached but it was all too little, too late.