ALL GOLDS IMPROVEMENT MASKED BY HEAVY DEFEAT

BEDFORD TIGERS 56 – 12 BRISTOL ALL GOLDS

Christopher Wilson at Bedford Athletic RFC

 SUMMARY

The Bristol All Golds travelled to Bedford hoping to avenge their mauling by the Tigers a fortnight ago but came away with a 56-12 defeat. The performance, though, was much better with some solid defence and decent attacking play, only let down by a lack of a real cutting edge. Joe Capener scored two well-worked tries, one in each half, but the Tigers were able to cruise into a 24-0 lead in the first quarter and picked off All Golds’ errors to accumulate ten tries through Elliott Hutchings, Kayne Chan Kitchener, Harry Higginson, Essad Al-Zureidi, the impressive Teddy Davidson, and Kye Jacobson before the interval. Hutchings added a second in the second period and Josh Hudson-Lett, Ed Brown and Santino Decaro followed him over the whitewash. Jack Brown had a good day with the boot, converting eight of the ten tries.

FULL REPORT

Struggling with injuries, a patched-up Bristol All Golds side with three players making their debut and assistant coach Jay Woodley a last-minute addition to the bench travelled to Bedford looking for a performance to make up for the dismal showing against the Tigers a fortnight ago.

 That 50-6 loss was at least partially made up for as, although the scoreboard showed a similar picture following a 56-12 defeat, the overall showing was full of heart and effort and is a solid foundation for the next three games which are crucial if the All Golds are to get into the Plate semi finals and go on to lift silverware in September.

However, there was a gulf in finishing ability as the Tigers crossed ten times while the All Golds, despite an 11-4 penalty count in their favour and the Tigers conceding five six-agains, could only muster two scores.

Conditions were vastly different from the blazing sunshine and suffocating heat of a fortnight ago as the Tigers kicked off under leaden skies and in drizzly rain and the scoring started early. 

The Tigers’ first set saw Kayne Chan Kitchener break through the All Golds’ right edge and give Elliott Hutchings a simple try. Jack Brown added the first of his eight goals for the day.

The Tigers were ill-disciplined and gave the All Golds plenty of possession, however, they were unable to do much with it and Chan Kitchener showed them how it was done with a converted try for a 12-0 lead in as many minutes.

The Tigers then extended their lead with two tries in as many minutes midway through the first half. After a long kick downfield from Oli Winterbottom, Josh Hudson-Lett returned the ball 70 metres using his pace to evade would-be tacklers and get deep into All Golds’ territory. Brown then put Harry Higginson over for a try Brown converted. 

Brown was lining up another kick minutes later after Essad Al-Zureidi had split the defence and run in from halfway, but the All Golds hit back with Kurtis Haile going close and then Oli Winterbottom produced a pinpoint kick for Joe Capener to collect and run in from 20 metres. Winterbottom added a fine goal from wide out to cut the deficit to 24-6.

There was no time for the All Golds to cut the deficit further as, three minutes later, the Tigers extended their lead through an unconverted Teddy Davidson touchdown.

Further misfortune befell the All Golds just before the break as Eric Davidson limped off with an ankle injury and Greg Hamilton fumbled the ball in midfield leading to a long break from Chan Kitchener and Jenson Binks putting Kye Jacobson over. Brown added the goal with the last kick of an entertaining half.

The All Golds managed to mount some concerted pressure on the home line at the start of the second half as the penalty count against the Tigers rose.

Successive infringements allowed Brandon Ball a powerful charge at the line and Capener’s thrust from dummy half was parried by the defence only for the winger to spin away from the contact and touch down. Winterbottom added a good goal to cut the lead to 34-12.

Thoughts of a remarkable comeback were soon dashed as the Tigers crossed four times in the final quarter to seal the win that strengthens their top three ambitions.

Binks sent Hutchings in for his second try before the All Golds wasted a promising position in the home 20-metre area with an error on the first tackle. From the scrum, Hudson-Lett was given space out wide and he motored away to the line, Will Armour’s chase ensured he touched down too far out for Brown to goal. It was a small win for the All Golds but one that epitomised the attitude on display.

The Tigers made an error from the restart and, after earning six more tackles, the All Golds forced a goal-line drop-out. However, Rob Davies’ charge to the line ended as the ball slipped from his grasp in a despairing tackle from a defender.

With seven minutes left, Ed Brown powered over from close range and with the last play of the game, Santino Decaro strolled through the defence to score. Jack Brown converted both to conclude a good game, well-refereed by Gareth Winnard.

The Tigers’ win sets them up in the top four for a tilt at the title, while the loss drops the All Golds to sixth pace in the table. The Bristolians have three games against the sides around them in the next three weeks. Win them all and fifth place and home advantage in the semi-finals for the Plate should be theirs.

MatchStats

Teams:

TIGERS: Elliott Hutchings; Essad Al-Zureidi, Kye Jacobson, Kayne Chan Kitchener, Josh Hudson-Lett; Jenson Binks, Jack Brown; Ed Brown, Jake Tilford, Jensen Monk; Teddy Davidson, George Murray; Harry Higginson. INTERCHANGE: Alfie Hawkhead, Lewis Sharp Elliott Holton, Santino Decaro.

SCORERS

Tries: Hutchings (2, 59), Chan Kitchener (12), Higginson (18), Al-Zureidi (21), Davidson (32), Jacobson (38), Hudson-Lett (65), E, Brown (73), Decaro (79).

Goals: J. Brown 8 from 10.

ALL GOLDS: Kurtis Haile; Jay Chatham, Ben Neave, Will Armour, Joe Capener; Greg Hamilton (Capt), Oli Winterbottom; Brandon Ball, Adam Turner, Eric Davidson; Luke Davies, Rob Davies; Tega Rume-Tabiowo. INTERCHANGE: Leon Atherton, Archie Anderson, Luis Rowe, Jay Woodley.  18^th Player: n/a

SCORERS:

Tries: Capener (29, 50)

Goals: Winterbottom 2 from 2.

Scoring sequence: 6-0, 12-0, 18-0, 24-0, 24-6, 28-6, 34-6, (HT), 34-12, 40-12, 44-12, 50-12, 56-12, (FT)

Penalties: Tigers 4-11 All Golds

Referee: Gareth Winnard (RFL)

All Golds Player of the Match: On his debut, Jay Chatham was impressive both on the wing and at full back. Carrying the ball strongly and defending well, he had a fine game. There was only disappointment in that he was unable to get an opportunity to show his pace in broken field.