Tribute South West One West

North Petherton 38, Drybrook 22

NORTH Petherton fought back from 17-0 down to beat Drybrook 38-22 at Beggars Brook on Saturday, writes Simon Freeman.

The hosts ran in six tries in wet conditions to secure a bonus-point win, courtesy of Carl Brown, Damian Griffin, Harry Roberts, James Taylor, Dan Frost and Gavin Hancock. Captains Damian Griffin admitted his side were slow out of the blocks, but praised their rousing comeback.

He said: “A slow start nearly cost us badly but we managed to stick to the game plan and we played some of our best rugby.

“Drybrook's defence was solid but the forwards kept battling until they ran out of numbers. I'm really pleased all our tries were team efforts.

“Our discipline was much improved which helps us massively.

“I'm really proud of the boys who put in a top performance for Jack and Tito's family.”

Drybrook raced into a 17-0 lead with two quick tries and a penalty as Pethy were caught cold - but some strong forward work on 34 minutes allowed Carl Brown to power over in the corner to get Pethy on the board, Harry Roberts converted.

Matters improved immediately from the kick off as Pethy secured the ball and attacked skilfully from right to left before Damian Griffin burst through to score from 25 metres, Roberts converted.

The momentum shift continued at the start of the second half as Pethy took control when an overlap was created for Roberts to exploit and dive over.

In the 50th minute Pethy moved the ball from left to right with Jack Kohler controlling the pace and giving a small opportunity for James Taylor to step his man and dart his way over, Roberts converted.The middle section of the second half remained scoreless with the breakdown becoming more important as both teams strived for dominance.

Drybrook bounced back impressively and began to move the ball at pace and stretch the home side until they ran out of defenders to narrow the gap.The game remained in the balance with every decision vital, Pethy managed to work well from lineouts forced one from ten metres out and with a concerted effort drove Dan Frost over, Roberts converted.

This gave Pethy some breathing space and the chance to run the ball out of defence and work their way upfield.

As they moved the ball slickly across the field Lowrie spotted an opportunity to slot a grubber through for Gavin Hancock to sprint past his opposite number and gather the ball at full tilt to slide over for the final play of the game.