Crusaders pinch it at the death over Bourn

By JOHN WHITE

Dings……………… 45pts

Bournville……… 41pts

Dings made it four wins in a row, thanks to a hard-fought victory over battling Bournville at Shaftesbury Park.

This turned out to be a 14-try thriller, with neither side able to grab the game by the scuff of the neck and dominate.

Both sides would have been relatively pleased with the outcome.

The visitors arrived on the back of three-straight defeats and on another day, might have bagged more than the two points they earned, while the hosts were forced into making seven changes to the starting side from the one that took the field seven days earlier at Old Redcliffians.

Dings director of rugby Stean Williams said: “We were delighted with the result today.

“Obviously, we would have liked to put in a better performance, but despite us not being at our best, we still found a way to win.

“Another bonus for us was that we gave a number of guys some valuable game time, which is another huge positive for us as a squad.

Happy days: Rhys Williams, right, is congratulated by Eparama Rokodrava and Ben Tibbetts

“There is plenty to work on and we know we’ll need to be better next week at Leicester Lions.”

After two big Bristol derbies over the past two weeks, this one had all the hallmarks of turning out to be a low-key affair.

There was a muted atmosphere, a smaller than usual crowd and a touch of lethargy in the air. But it turned out to be a real humdinger of a contest that was hanging in the balance until the final whistle.

The visitors shocked their hosts early on with a try in the corner from Michael Ho after six minutes – Ho crossed for a second later in the half.

Dings’ No.8 Chris Rovery was the star of the first half.

The former Clifton man crossed for a firsthalf hat-trick, with fly-half Ollie Millner adding two out of three conversion attempts.

Lock Kyle Williams also crossed for the visitors to ensure the Midlands-based side were still in touch at the break at 19-15.

The second half was a real topsy-turvy affair. Crusaders made a bright start with centre Marcus Brooker going over for an unconverted try to make it 24-15.

Try time: Marcus Brooker runs round the Bournville defence to score

PICTURES: Ric Mellis

But Dings were unable to pull clear, and back came Bournville with a try from full-back Owen Williams. Standoff Mitch McGahan converted. Sam Slate’s effort for the hosts was Star man Chris Rovery -Dings cancelled out by hooker Jamie Harding, and the visitors forged a 34-31 after 65 minutes when Eparama Rokodrava crossed.

But Dings were not done just yet and hit back with a quick-fire double from Tommy Gollop and Matt Smith – Luke Arscott booted both conversions to make it 45-34 after 76 minutes. But the visitors had the final word with Ben Tibbett going over for a try converted by Max Caven.

Bournville Boss Phil Maynard said: “We came here to get a point and were delighted to get two. It was a game of contrasting styles – their driving line-out against our backs, and I think people saw that we can play a bit when we get some go-forward ball. We can build on this and are due a win soon.”