CLOUDBURST HAS SILVER LINING FOR BRISTOL

Paul Hull saw his team win the British and Irish Cup in his final game in charge of the club his has served for so long.  A fine ending to his association with Bristol and to a generally disappointing season.  Not a game in the swashbuckling style of his playing days but a gritty performance with Bristol playing a tight game in poor conditions.  Strong defence and the ability to seize chances were the keys to victory.  Let us hope that Bristol will move on to next season in similar vein to the previous winners.

Bedford kicked off the final, well taken by Iain Grieve, followed by an excellent touchfinder from fullback George Watkins.  However Bedford made good use of the lineout possession and put Bristol under pressure.  A penalty sent to touch took them to the Bristol 22 and, despite a rather skewed throw at the lineout, they moved swiftly towards the five metre line where Bristol were penalised for offside.  Pritchard stepped up to kick his side into the lead just as the thunder rolled and rain began to fall. 

Bristol tried to hit back and Junior Fatialofa burst into the heart of the Bedford defence, only for the ball to be lost forward as it was shipped wide. Despite this, Bristol exerted a little pressure and Bedford gave away a penalty that Ed Barnes, sadly, was unable to kick.  Bedford took full advantage of the let-off and went straight over onto the attack and speedily had the ball back up to the Bristol five metre line before the defence managed to regroup.  Happily the ball was spilled forward as the downpour began to have a real effect on play.  It also had a real effect on my notebook which has stuck together or fallen apart from this point onwards! 

No matter, I'll try to persevere, just as Bristol did (although it might be a bit hazy on the detail).  Handling errors continued to disrupt play but it was the home side that adapted better, whilst Bedford continued to adopt a more expansive approach.  A kick into the corner was probably Bristol's first real threatening move of the game and it was Bedford's turn to give away a kickable penalty.  Barnes duly equalised.  Bristol remained in the Bedford half and the visitors soon gave away another penalty chance and again Barnes went for the posts. His successful kick saw Bristol move into a 6 - 3 lead.

Bristol continued to keep things relatively tight and appeared to have the upper hand in the scrum.  Darren Crompton showed  all his experience as he had his opposite number in all sorts of difficulties.  The driving maul was also very effective and lead to another penalty that Barnes struck neatly over.  It also saw Rae sent to the sin-bin just before the half concluded with Bristol 9 - 3 in front. 

The second half saw Bedford tighten their game considerably, although you might wonder that professional players need their coach to tell them this at half time.  In any event it was hard to tell that they were a man down as they probed the Bristol defence.  Bristol were hard put to keep the visitors out, but the defence was suffocating.  Committed tackling halted attacks short of the line and prevented Bedford getting quick ball and taking the ball at pace.  Their main ball carrier, Tupai, found it hard to break the gain line, once being hauled down by the considerably smaller Dan Norton.  This blunted the visitors attacking threat and lead to turnover ball that Bristol ruthlessly exploited.  Bedford tried to shift the ball wide but a hurried pass in the face of a Fatialofa challenge went loose and Anthony Elliott seized the ball and just managed to slide over and ground the ball despite two tacklers clinging to him.  Barnes was off-target with the conversion attempt but Bristol had moved to a 14 - 3 lead just before Rae's return.

An eleven point lead was likely to prove a tough hurdle in the conditions, but Bristol could not afford to relax and Bedford chipped away at the lead with another Pritchard penalty.  It then looked as if the dangerous Watkins had cut a lovely line through the Bedford defence and was almost certain to score,  but he was called back for what seemed like a harsh penalty for crossing.  In all honesty, I've actually seen this incident on TV and Jack Adams may well not have been as innocent as he looked at the time, although on many of occasions this would have been allowed.  This time Pritchard was wide of the mark, to the relief of the Bristol supporters. 

Bedford continued to attempt to breach the Bristol defence but it was stalwart and held firm.  Finally a penalty went to the visitors and Pritchard returned to form and took his team to just a five point deficit at 14 - 9.  Jangling nerves were temporarily settled when Bedford were rather surprisingly penalised for going off their feet.  Barnes stepped up for the difficult kick.  He struck it firmly but the ball seemed to be heading wide of the posts.  Barnes, though, had judged the wind superbly and the ball swung back on target and went over.  At 17 - 9 Bristol were more than a converted try ahead and time was running out for Bedford. 

Bedford were determined not to lose another close game so soon after their agonising defeat to Worcester and hammered away at Bristol, edging ever closer to the try line.  Tackles rained in but the pressure told, the defence ran out of bodies and Schmidt went over out right.  It was a tricky conversion and Pritchard was unable to make it.  Bristol clearly asked how much time was left and showed great skill, despite a couple of shaky passes, to hold on to the ball as the referee's watch counted down.  The ball was never going to go far from the pack and they kept jealous hold of it, frustrating the Bedford.  Fatialofa added his bulk to things as the backs tried to get involved and Norton also contributed to one ruck but essentially it was a great exhibition from the forwards that even managed to make progress down to the edge of the Bedford 22.  At last the referee made a slightly ominous throat-cutting gesture and Richard Bolt, on for Robbie Shaw, was able to kick to touch.  The crowd erupted.  Bristol had won the British and Irish cup in Paul Hull's final game in charge.