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Bristol vs Coventry

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bristol-iain

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First off, who saw it? It was on Sky Sports 2, much to my delight.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>
Bristol ran in a total of eight tries against Coventry this evening at The Memorial Stadium, handing Paul Hull and Bristol supporters the performance they were eagerly awaiting.
After suffering their first away defeat to Doncaster Knights last week, Bristol were keen to make amends for a disappointing 26-22 loss in which the Knights found their form while Bristol struggled with composure.

Focused on a better performance than previous, a Bristol team consisting of four changes were ready to put on an impressive display in front of their home supporters.

Eight games into the Championship season, third placed Bristol welcomed a Coventry team who were placed seventh with three wins so far, including last week’s 26-10 win against Plymouth Albion.

An attendance of nearly 5,000 came to the Memorial Stadium on a brisk Friday evening, keen to see the home team show the premiership standard of rugby they are capable of.

Bristol began the first half in the same way they ended it- strong, and with possession. Their composure seemed to have returned and they were comfortable in throwing the ball the around, as well as dominating at the set piece.

With the possession well in Bristol’s favour, the home side opened the try scoring when Tom Arscott crossed in the fifth minute, taking the offload from Adrian Jarvis when Bristol drove straight through Coventry’s 22. Jarvis missed the conversion to leave Bristol ahead by five.

Coventry’s Joe Carlise responded with a kick of his own when Bristol played off their feet, slotting the ball between the uprights. 5-3

The set piece continued to work well, and a strong driving maul gave Dan Norton room on the blind to break through, taking the offload before switching to Tom Arscott. The winger dived over for his second try with ten minutes gone. Jarvis missed his second kick. 10-3.

A penalty against Bristol for offside gave Carlise another challenging attempt at goal, which he kicked well and converted. 10-6

Impressive counter rucking from Bristol gave the backs room to manoeuvre, transferring the ball across the pitch and putting Norton in the far left corner for Bristol’s third try. Jarvis, struggling to find his angle, missed again. 15-6.

More strong play from the home team and slick passing from the backs added another try in quick succession, handing Tom Arscott his hat trick try, last achieved by Sean Marsden in April 2005. Jarvis successfully converted. 22-6.

A great piece of footwork and solo effort from fly-half Carlise countered Tom Arscott’s try with a chip and chase, putting himself in under the posts. Coventry’s full-back Ben Russell converted. 22-13.

In extra time, a further try was added for the home side after another strong maul gave Jason Spice the room to break from the back, offloading to Norton who neatly chipped back inside to the captain for the score. Jarvis sent the conversion wide, leaving Bristol 27-13 ahead at half-time.

Coventry started the second half with a renewed insurgence, and were quick to turn that into points with a try from Jo Marrigan scoring the first try of the half after only three minutes. Russell failed to add the further points. 27-18

Ten minutes into second half, Bristol appeared to have taken their foot off the gas and Coventry were beginning to build phases well. Their composure resulted in an early penalty kick, which Russell duly converted. 27-21

Bristol soon got their game back into action, turning over Coventry at the scrum and sending play to Norton who quick footed his way down the wing. A neat inside offload to James Phillips set the back-row storming through Coventry’s defence and crashing over the line. Jarvis missed the extra two points. 32-21

A turned over scrum, with slick hands and good boot from Tom Arscott, put Coventry under pressure in their 22, handing Bristol the line out. A well-worked run from Luke Eves put him under posts, slipping through the opposition’s defence. Jarvis converted. 39-21

A further try was still to come for the home side when Jack Adams intercepted full-back Ben Russell’s loose pass in the final minutes, adding his own contribution to the score sheet. Jarvis converted. 46-21

Coventry made their final addition to the scoreboard, after a line-out and crash ball to Rob Dugard, saw him drive over the line for a consolation try. Russell added the extras as the final whistle blew.

Final Score 46-28.[/b]

Pleasing game to watch, but shows that, defensivley at least, we still have a lot of work to do if we are to have a sucessfull season. Next up is a trip to Devon to play Plymouth.
 

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