Berry Hill16 Cheltenham 27

Berry Hill left it too late in their semi final county cup match against last years finalists Cheltenham. Trailing 24 -6 after the first half due to missed tackles and seeing themselves 3 tries down ,Hill finally sprang into action for the final 35 minutes. Virtually camping in Cheltenham’s 22 metre line for most of the second half Hill broke through with Cobi Robinson touching down in the corner. On the restart Hill again pressurized with a wave of pick and go drives they pushed the ball deep into the visitors half and were awarded a second try with Harry Brown powering over through a strong defensive line of Cheltenham forwards. All this forward pressure however had eaten away the game time and it was Cheltenham who for the last play of the match slotted a penalty between the posts to seal the victory. Hill Can take away a lot from their second half performance and can work on improving some areas of their game ready for the Abergavenny tournament.

Team

Kyle Bundy, William Lewis, Callum Wyman, Matthew Office, Conor Evans, Louie Vaughan, William Tyler, Ryan Dawson, Will Jones, Oliver Morgan , Harry Brown, Craig Harris , Cobi Robinson , Billy Roberts , Tom Burford, Sam Hughes, Ashley Macey, Ben Robbins, Ricky Davies.


Cheltenham report

Thornbury 20 Berry Hill 22

Berry Hill booked a place in the county cup semi finals with their quarter final win over Thornbury. Hill playing up the slope soon took the game to Thornbury with the forwards working as a solid pack ,they moved the ball up the field with the series of rucks and were mistakenly awarded a try when the referee mistook the 5 metre line for the try line. With the error spotted Hill failed to capitalize on the scrum but continued to dominate and had the majority of the possession. They were undone however by missed tackles as the quick Thornbury backs broke through and scored twice to put them 12 point ahead. Hill undaunted stuck at their game plan and narrowed the margin with Harry Brown touching down and Ryan Dawson converting to finish the 1st half 12 -7 down. Now with the slope in their favour Hill pushed the ball deep into Thornbury territory but a penalty against the run of play saw them fall further behind. Still not deterred Hill restored the margin with a penalty and pressurised again with Kyle Bundy who has a habit of scoring in important games touching down after a great off load from Sam Hughes. Ryan Dawson then stepped up to slot home the conversion and put Hill ahead in the game for the first time. Hill looked to have the momentum but a long kick by Thornbury to clear their lines saw the ball bounce towards the attacking players and they quickly seized on it to score again. As the clock ebbed way it looked as if Hill had left it too late but a strong run from Harry Brown resulted in Callum Wyman with the clear run to the line and restore the lead. With conversion being missed there were only 2 points to separate the teams and Hill knew they had to keep their discipline and not concede a penalty. This they did and progress to the next stage was secured.

Team

Kyle Bundy, William Lewis, Callum Wyman, Matthew Office, Conor Evans, Louie Vaughan, William Tyler, Ryan Dawson, Will Jones, Oliver Morgan , Harry Brown, Craig Harris, Billy Roberts , Tom Burford, Sam Hughes, Ashley Macey, Ben Robbins.

The  winning try



The final Whistle

Berry Hill 19 Cirencester 7

'Sometimes adversity is what you need to face in order to become successful' Zig Ziglar.

For the last game in the County Cup pool stages Hill decided to keep the same team line up that worked well for them when they were struggling for players in their previous game against Monmouth. Cirencester have always proved strong opposition and Berry knew they had to start well to gain the upper hand. Working to their game plan they soon put the visitors under pressure and forced the ball deep into Cirencenter's territory. Hill moved the ball quickly and a strong run from Tom Burford saw them rewarded with an opening try. Although Hill continued to dominate they could be justified for feeling aggrieved when Cirencester where awarded a penalty and while they drinking water believing the game had been halted Cirencester ran up the pitch and scored under the posts. This fired Hill up and they quickly restored the margin with some great link up play between Harry Brown and Matty Office to see Ollie Morgan touch down. It was then Matty Office who then went over himself early in the second half to increase the lead and give Hill some breathing space. Hill continued to dominate but errors when rucking allowed Cirencester a share of the ball but they failed to capitalise on the possession and the scores remained static until the final whistle.

Berry now progress to the Cup Knockout Stages with their next game against Thornbury. Man of the match was awarded to prop Will Jones and Sam Hughes was also recognised for an outstanding performance.
Team
Kyle Bundy, William Lewis, Matthew Office, Conor Evans, Louie Vaughan, William Tyler, Ryan Dawson, Will Jones, Oliver Morgan , Harry Brown, Craig Harris , Cobi Robinson , Billy Roberts , Tom Burford, Sam Hughes, Ashley Macey, Ben Robbins.