BRISTOL TRIUMPH OVER TITANS

It was tense affair but Bristol showed a collective strength of mind allied to a change of tactics in the second half that saw the forwards strangle the life out of a Rotherham side that ultimately had no answer to Bristol's dominance of the set-piece and a defence that showed it doesn't always concede points in the final quarter

On a lovely evening Rotherham kicked off into would was a surprisingly tricky breeze.  Indeed Socino misjudged it to such an extent that his effort went out on the full.  Bristol were awarded a free kick at the scrum and Ruki Tipuna was off.  Rotherham gave away a penalty and, surprise, surprise Nicky Robinson went for touch.  The lineout was a mess from a Bristol perspective, in contrast to the excellent performance in the previous game in far worse conditions.  However, the hosts were penalised again and this time Robinson kicked Bristol into a 0 – 3 lead.  The Rotherham restart was again straight into touch.

Thereafter it was an inconclusive affair with neither side able to gain the upper hand although Bristol looked distinctly out of sorts and Rotherham rather better.  A short period of pressure was rewarded with a harsh penalty for a high tackle by Jack Tovey and Socino resumed normal service with the boot to equalise the score in the game but Bristol still ahead on aggregate. 

An overall lead that was not to survive the half when Bristol coughed up possession in the Rotherham half and they swept in a counter-attack as Bristol struggled to regroup.  Preece was prominent in the move that culminated in a controversial try for Keating in the far left hand corner.  From my angle there were two problems.  The first was that there looked to be a clear forward pass in the build up and secondly it looked as if Keeting had lost the ball forward as he tried to touchdown.  The referees call for a TMO review appeared to confirm these doubts, but a watcher on Sky said the referral was only for the grounding of the ball, not for the pass.  No matter, the replay seemed to show he had indeed knocked on in the act of scoring.  Sadly the TMO did not agree.  I’ve seen it since and wouldn’t have been surprised if it hadn’t been given, but he may still have had the ball in contact with his arm.  I guess that’s enough.  On the other hand (!) it still looks like a forward pass.

So, Rotherham were up 8 – 3 on the evening and now ahead on aggregate. 

Hugely encouraged Rotherham pushed forward again and Bristol were forced back on the defensive as the home side edged ever closer.  At last, camped just a metre out and beneath the posts Bristol gave away another in a quick succession of penalties and Marco Mamo, bruised and bleeding was shown yellow.  Socino obliged with the points to extend his side’s lead.

Bristol looked in deep trouble at half time.  Play had been predictable and lethargic.  Control at half back was lacking and unknown debutant Ryan Jones distinctly off the pace.  The mood amongst the travelling supporters was despondent and wholesale changes were called for if Bristol were to retrieve the situation.

Hardwick Hall, 'more glass than wall', where I stopped off on the way up

And changes were made as the teams re-entered the fray.  Not the changes that supporters expected, with Ross Johnston and Luke Baldwin on when many had been calling for Robinson to make way for Adrian Jarvis.

All this, and Bristol a man down.  An absence that hardly showed really when it was Bristol that scored the first in what (spoiler alert) proved a series of unanswered points.  An attacking scrum put the Rotherham defence on the back foot and a well worked move released Ben Mosses at pace and he sliced through a defence that went walkabout for the first time in the match.  Yes the defence was poor, but it came about because of the forward strength of Bristol and some good quality half-back play that brought about the error.   Robinson converted well and Bristol were back in front.

Rotherham had by no means given up, but they were unable to get close to the Bristol line.  However, the defence did give away two kickable penalties.  Socino, lauded as the most reliable kicker in the league was well off target with both efforts.  Was the pressure getting to him?

It certainly did get to the flaky and unreliable Robinson who edged Bristol further away from Rotherham with an impressive effort for 11 – 16 on the day.

The final quarter saw Bristol outmuscle the ‘fittest team in the league’ up front.  Good defence forced turnovers and knock-ons and the scrum was now utterly dominant.  Replacement Jason Hobson (a move not at all popular with James Hall) had his opposite number in all sorts of problems with the Rotherham front row in disarray.  A penalty was inevitable, and equally inevitable was the kick to touch.  But it wasn’t the case; Jones, after an anonymous first half, had taken over the captaincy in the second and turned out to be the former Welsh captain and British Lion.  Who’d have thought it?  He controlled things at the base of the scrum, carried well and took good tactical decisions.  Robinson went for the posts again, and again his lack of practice showed as it sailed between the uprights.  He was similarly accurate with another attempt at goal. That left the final score at 11 – 22.  Combined with the three point lead from the first leg it meant Bristol were into the final, winning both semis and a 14 point overall lead.  Nerve shredding stuff though.