BRISTOL "CHEAT" THEIR WAY TO VICTORY
Bristol Ruck
By Ian Todd
April 10 2011
Bristol chalked up a bonus point victory against Nottingham. A boorish group of Nottingham supporters who 'sang' that Bristol were always cheating whenever their side was awarded a penalty and asked, inexplicably, if we were Derby in disguise were finally silenced and the bodhrán mercifully packed away some time before the end of an entertaining match in which Bristol outscored the visitors four tries to three and put in a much better performance all round
In glorious weather Bristol kicked off the match and Mako Vunipola was quickly into the fray with a typically powerful run down the left wing. He was soon in action again, freed by Jack Adams but Bristol turned over possession when the ball was shipped out to the right. The long clearance kick from Nottingham was only just picked up by the out of position George Watkins. Nottingham won good possession from a penalty lineout but failed to make much headway in the face of determined Bristol defence. Nottingham were penalised and Bristol attacked rapidly. Vunipola showed his more creative side by passing neatly to Anthony Elliott, who cut a good line to race in from 40 metres despite a valiant last ditch tackle from the pursuing defender. Ed Barnes converted for a 7 - 0 scoreline.
Dan Norton showed that his recent 7's form could carry over into the 15-man game with a nice little dart but Bristol managed to knock-on when the ball went along the line. Nottingham seized their chance and took play to Bristol. Bristol continued to defend well but were gradually pushed back and replacement Forsyth worked his way over when a couple of tacklers fell away. The try was converted to make things all square. Bristol almost hit back from the restart when Nottingham failed to claim the ball. Vunipola and then Watkins took the ball on before the pack seemed to maul over the line only for the referee to rule that the ball had been held up. No matter, Nottingham were struggling in the scrum (despite some of the visiting support appearing to believe that Bristol were guilty of standing up) and after two penalties the referee trotted beneath the posts for a penalty try, duly converted by Barnes to double his team's score.
Bristol were then, harshly, penalised for failing to roll away and Nottingham made a good touch. The drive from the lineout was good and Bristol gave away a penalty in front of the posts. Barnes was yellow-carded for the offence and Nottingham took a quick tapped penalty that saw Streather over an equalizing converted try. Bristol tried to hit back and Junior Fatialofa bulldozed his way up field only to hand the ball to a Nottingham player with his offload out of the tackle. Fortunately for Bristol, Norton seized upon a sloppy pass and sprinted in from well inside the Bristol half with the defence puffing in his wake. Replacement Chris Ashwin converted and the half ended with Bristol leading 21 - 14.
Bristol started the second half well, with the pack keeping up the pressure in the setpiece. Quick ball to Barnes gave him an instant of time to show the ball and he dummied his way into space. He was well supported by Marco Mama who hammered his way close to the line. Bristol tried to force their way over and this time it was a yellow card for Nottingham. The pack was completely in control of the subsequent scrum and drove over the line with Mama claiming the honour of touching down for and unconverted try but a 26 - 14 lead.
A great run from captain Iain Grieve from the restart got the crowd roaring but loose passing gave possession back to the visitors who swiftly progressed down to the Bristol 22. A penalty to Nottingham went to touch but the Bristol defence stayed solid. Norton was up very quickly to force a turnover but the officials ruled him to have been offside (when in fact he was just too fast for them). To touch again, again the defence was strong. Yet another penalty to touch and still Nottingham failed to make headway before knocking on. Bristol, though were harshly penalised but still the visitors struggled to make any real headway in the face of determined defence and finally knocked on again. The danger seemed to have passed but the lineout was quickly taken and Nottingham were right back in the Bristol 22.
Frustrated out on the left wing, a cross-field kick went out towards Norton who competed well for the ball against a taller opponent, forcing a knock-on. Bristol tried again to escape the assault but Nottingham claimed Bristol lineout ball to move back onto the attack. The tackling from the defenders was fierce and Nottingham just could not find a way through. Bristol started to concede a succession of penalties as they attempted to shut down the offensive and it was unsurprising when a second yellow card was shown. Even as Mariano Sambucetti trudged along the touchline the Nottingham penalty sailed the wrong side of the corner flag and Bristol escaped with a 22 drop-out. The touchfinder was a good one but Nottingham claimed the lineout and raced into space. The final pass had a hint of forwardness to it but Streather dashed over for an unconverted try.
Back in bonus point range Nottingham tried to run the restart back but were penalised for a clumsy piece of crossing. Rightly, Barnes went for goal and took Bristol to a ten point advantage with time running out. Creditably Nottingham continued to run the ball but a couple of forward passes out on the left wing halted their efforts to build momentum. Bristol contrived a knock-on to allow Nottingham to get moving again but the defence was in no mood to be pierced at this late stage and the ball was turned over. The clearance kick looked too long but Norton's chase was a good one and Bristol were awarded a penalty as the Nottingham player held on to the ball. There was still time for Vunipola to pound his way forward again but the whistle blew with the final score at 29 - 19.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:04:23:18:50:12 by SenorJuan.
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The additional chant claiming to be the best away supporters in the league is something I'd argue about too. Methinks they protest too much!
Graham
C'mon Bris,
Stand out in a crowd, wear the Hoops!
It really doesn't bother me if I'm honest and can sometimes add to the atmosphere, but there is a line that shouldn't be crossed before it becomes abuse.
changed ends at half time & couldn't hear them in second half
Quote:SenorJuan
I know this makes me sound really old, but I found the "always cheating" chant very irritating, and it's not something I have ever heard at a rugby ground before (or want to again).
Quote:Graham_U
I'm with you SJ about the cheat chants, not heard it at Rugby before and found it annoying not funny or banter.
Quote:Rinkadink
I've heard the "always cheating" chant quite a few times while we were in the prem, I can't recall any singing it at the Mem though.
So none of you were at the game, then, when we played at the Mem in the play-offs and every penalty against Wuss was greeted with a couple of choruses of "Same old Worcester, always cheating"?
Whatever you do, do it safely!