Bishopston II 21                 St Bernadette’s 5

Bishopston won the first half when their winger scored twice in quick succession due to missed tackles and a bit of inexperience in our back line. Scrummage went well with the return of Chris “the hog” Hibbs and Rich Pearce contested all the lineouts. Chris Sheppard was very quick around the park in the back row and linked up well with Pete Russ and Tom Hagan. We got our try from a quick penalty by Craig Davis who passed to Rich Pearce to dive through a gap to score.

In the second half Chris Clarke made his return and contained their winger with quick tackles and Jerry Packer came on at centre and helped in organising the back line. This evened up the game and we began to make ground.

A good performance by all players and the younger players are beginning to realise their strengths and weaknesses.

Sean Fraser 10/11/2008

St Bernadettes 22                     Imperial 25

A strong start to the game with Mat Morgan scoring after 5 minutes. New recruit Chris Sheppard followed this 10 minutes later. Imperial then began to come back into the game and score twice to make it 10 –10 at half time.

In the second half we did not change our game to deal with the areas where Imperial were beginning to dominate. A few bit of in discipline gave them a scrum on our 5 meter line and they scored. Josh Lukacs then got his first senior try after a driving maul and then Shaun Collett put is in front. Imperial then took the win after slack tackling.

Sean Fraser 05/11/2008

Kingswood 34        St Bernadette’s 0

With all the youth missing from the side that was no one to chase down the attackers or get in support when tackles were made. Peter Russ has a good game at no 8 as did John Condon but, with so many players unable to keep up with play, Kingswood were able to run around our scattered defence. Darren Carter put in some good cover tackles as did Tom Hagan but we could not recycle the ball to counter attack

Sean Fraser 28/10/2008

St Bernadette’s 51  Broad Plain II  7

After lending them 4 players and still having 5 subs we took a long time to get into the game. A lot of back chat and moaning was disrupting the play ”Probably caused by not having a game for 3 weeks and having not played together before”.

Mat Morgan scored his first try for the club. Ben Collett converted and got a penalty. Then after a kick and chase by Jamie Hodges (playing for Broad Plain) Steve Meacham went to gather the ball but it bounced straight past him. He made a goal keeper type dive to try and grab the ball but ended up on his back side and Jamie picked it up to score.

In the second half they were to tired and we ran in several tries. Shane Graham got 3 and Ben Collett had 2. Other scorers were Steve Meacham, Darren Carter, Loggers and Chris Dunne got his first club try.

Sean Fraser 08/10/2008

St Bernadettes 42              Ashly down 0

The stronger side won with good support and doing the basics well.

Mike Piani scored so need I say more………..

Sean Fraser 08/04/2008

St Bernadettes 37              Kingswood 0

In very windy and wet conditions saints ran the ball well and the larger Kingswood pack soon tiered.

Sean Fraser 31/03/2008

Frampton 45            St Bernadette’s 10

Starting with only 11 players (one was lost in transit) we borrowed 3 of their subs and started well by putting on a lot of pressure. Unfortunately with a lot of players out of their normal positions it allowed Frampton to be better organised and attack our weaker areas. The winger we borrowed scored 2 trys, not bad in his second ever game. The first from a scrum where the ball was moved along the line, Barry looped Martin to create an over lap for the winger to score. . Shane Graham then arrived and was forced to put his kit on, this helped close down their fly half but he needed more support.

We lost Matt Taylor to a knee injury and Leo Costello made his come back complete with scrum hat. But having the right kit does not bring back the past. Lineouts were messy but with the return of Rich Pearce and Loggers we were able to spoil a lot of their ball but we unable to match them around the park. 

Sean Fraser 26/02/2008

Barbarians 5      St Bernadettes 57 

First Half 

In a game of 11 against 13 it was possibly the most untidy game that the crowd had ever seem. In fact there were more spectators than players. With the limited numbers there were uncontested scrums. Rich Pearce had a good game for Barb’s with a fine cross-field kick that was meant for the bottom corner.

We kicked off going down the hill and scored within the first 5 minutes when Barry pick up from a ruck and had no opposition to stop him scoring under the posts.

Then Gerry Ryan appeared in the centre and trundled over from the 22. Tim Cox scored when the ball was moved from a ruck in the left-hand corner to the right side of the field to find him in space. Chris Lloyd was waiting on the wing for Steve Meacham to run across and link up, via a slightly forward pass, for a score in the corner. Meacham then scored again from a pick at the edge of a ruck. 

Second Half

Barb’s started well and kept Saints in their 22 for a while and then from a scrum on the 5 meter line they broke through a tackle and scored.

Saints then got back into the game from a maul on their 22 Gerry made a break to link with Meacham to score under the posts. Meacham got his third after Aaron Smith  carried the ball to the 22 and recycled the ball which gave us an over lap to which Steve dummied the centre and walked in under the posts.

Tim Cox then got the last 2 tries. The first after Craig Bryson linked with Meacham and Marshall to get past the last defender. The second was from after a link up between Milkins and Bryson and Tim found space to score under the post.  

Sean Fraser 19/02/2008

St Bernadettes 26      BAC 3

BAC arrived when Saints only had 4 players in the clubhouse. They began warming up an hour before kick off and we finally got a full team 5 minutes before the game started. Thanks to Mez for standing in as the referee called off on Saturday morning. Well done to Paul for getting the team together and calling in a lot of favours to make players turn up.

We had a quick warm up and tried a few lineouts. We had one jumper who ripped his shorts in practice so had to lift Mark “White men can’t jump” Hanson. The game started at a brisk pace and Saints kept the ball well in the tackle but found it hard to break their defence. Then from a BAC line out in our 22 we won the ball and with quick passing the ball was given to Blaine who broke through a tackle and ran in to score from the half way line.

Barry O’Driscoll moved to no 9 after Sean Fraser went off, Mike Rogers moved from the wing to back row and we now had a line out option. Saint then began to dominate with the forwards and backs linking well in retaining possession. Mark Hanson was always in support and Pete Russ and McCann carried the ball well.

In the second half we were going down the slope and with the sun behind us and the game began to open up.

Blaine made a break and was held up on their 22 but a quick pass to Chopper allowed him to drive over. Next score was from a line out which was driven over by Milkins and Piani who both touch down together. The last try was nearly the length of the pitch. A penalty was awarded in our 22. Mat Taylor took a quick tap and cut across the field to link up with Neil Kingdon and after a short ruck the ball emerged on the wing in the hands of Mike Rogers who ran in to score in the corner.    

Sean Fraser 12/02/2008

Barton Hill  27   St Bernadette’s  5

In what can only be described as organised chaos we arrived 30 minutes after kick off with 14 players, no back row and a set of backs how all normally play on the wing. We were then taken apart by a vastly stronger and more experienced group who obviously played well as a team. We stuck at it but picked up several injuries in the pack, which meant putting more ¾’s into unfamiliar positions.

Our try came from a beak from Mat Taylor who passed to Andy Grimmer on the wing. He rounded one defender and broke through the cover tackle to score in the corner.  

Sean Fraser 14/01/2008

St Bernadette’s 5          Old Reds 36

In a game where the result looks like a walk over there was a good a lot of effort put in by the players even if they did not have the fitness to keep up with the opposition. There were several chances by the home team but a few mistakes in the last pass keep Saints score to just 1 try. Any mistakes made were quickly punished and with several players being out of position Reds scored several tries on the counter attack. We had only one option at the line out and, without a hooker to throw in, it was a big problem.

The scrums held together but the pace and passing from the tackle from Red was too difficult to defend.

Lots of cover tackling form the wingers and full back and a couple of strong runs from Bobby Coombes but lack of support due to fitness was our down fall.     

Sean Fraser 18/12/2007

From the start it was obvious that we had the stronger pack. We waited for 5 minutes for their prop to get to the first scrum and then realised he was older and slower than Piany. Giorgio took several balls against the head when close to their line and Luke Crehan was able to drive over from no 8. he got a total of 5 try's and made a strong run from a restart that took him to within 5 meters of their line.

Mike Piany scored from a ruck close to the line but was later held up over the line by their fly-half. Paul Marshall missed the first conversion from in front of the post he also lost the ball in contact despite being over the line. Steve Meacham took over the kicking, he managed to get 3 over and hit the post once. Ross Parker made some good breaks from centre, on one drive he held the ball up when tackled so it could be quickly moved down the blind side and through 3 sets of hand for Bobby Coombes to score in the corner.

Sean Fraser 11/12/2007

St Bernadette’s 10  Avonmouth 10 

After last weeks run away win this was a much more physical game. Avonmouth had greater strength in the pack and dominated the scrums and line outs. Pat Hagan started as hooker but was replaced after 15 minutes due to a cut mouth. Jason Williams replaced him, this tightened up the front row, but we were still pushed off some of our own ball.  

We scored first after some quick passing from the back resulting in a line out and then a drive for the line, Brett Ford got the conversion. Avonmouth then struck back with try after a strong forwards drive. The conversion was missed. Some good cover tackling by the backs stopped most of there attacks but after several minutes of pressure they scored in the corner and missed the conversion. 

Half time 7 - 10 

Both teams made several changes and the second half started a bit scrappy. Our younger and fitter players made up for the strength of the opposition’s forwards and the game was played mostly between the 2 22’s. With about 7 minutes to go Ben Thomas was taken out in the lineout and Brett slotted over the resulting penalty. A few minutes later Tim Cox tried a long pas but this was intercepted by their centre who ran the length of the pitch. Fortunately for us when he dived for the line he let go of the ball and could not regain control. 

We got a good result from a game in which we were clearly the 2^nd best team. Good teamwork and tackling kept us in the game. Thanks to Chris Lloyd for captaining the side and after his end of game talk we should all remember to keep our spirits up and play for each other. This way we can always be in with a chance in any game

Sean Fraser 05/11/2007.

Bernadette’s 97       Kingswood 0 

With no 3^rd team front row available and the second teams game cancelled we had a much stronger pack than Kingswood. This domination and the pace of the younger back line allowed saints to run in over a dozen try’s. There were 7 changes at half time with several new players getting their first run out. Some positional changes were made to allow the wingers to get more of the ball. Chris McCormack and Bob Coombs moved to centre and made some strong runs.

 Not a game where you can say that anyone shone out. The support play was good with a lot of quick ball and passing from the tackle. Tom Tiley made several breaks and along with Brett they were the pick of the backs. In the forwards Giorgio was always in support and Paul Marks won a lot of ball on the floor.

The score could have passed the 100 mark but Pete McCann had a try disallowed because his big a$$ touched the corner flag before he grounded the ball.

Also last week Nick Marshall also scored in the 2^nd team game and was promoted to the 1^st. So well done Nick.

 Sean Fraser 29/10/2007 

Barton Hill 0     St Bernadette’s 19

In a bit of a mix up of a game saints came out the victors. A good all around performance from the new players. First there was no referee, then two of our front row did not turn up. We sorted a referee but had to play uncontested scrums.

Bart’s were a much larger pack and played down the hill in the first half. Good tackling and a lot of mistakes keep the half time score at 0-0.

In the second half we played a lot of quick ball and should have scored a few more try’s but inexperience sometime messed up the final pass.

Paul Marshall scored the first after good forward recycling on the right allowed the ball to be switch back across the field. Mike Piani was still there from the last scrum and he fed Paul who dummied the winger to score. A counter attack from Chris at full back allowed Luke Crehan to get over the line but he was held up. He managed to get the ball back and Pete Russ dived on it to score.

The final score was from a break down the right by Sam Darlinson who passed inside to Luke Crehan and he stepped inside the cover defence not once, not twice but three time to score under the posts. Paul converted 2 out of the 3.

Bac 43 V St Bernadettes 20

The overall impression from the players was that we were out muscled up front by a much larger pack and there were too many dropped passes by the backs.

The first try was scores by either Luke Crehan or Mike Rogers after a hack through of a fumbled ball. Both players claimed the try but as there was no free drink attached it was awarded to Luke. Chris Lloyd then drove over with, allegedly, 4 men on his back from the 22.  The other score can after a turnover in a lineout followed by quick passing to Nick Marshal who made an explosive break and pass to Conrad to score.

(Thanks to Chris, Nick and Luke for help in this review). 

Sean Fraser 08/10/2007

St Bernadettes 47 v Barbarians 0

A real mix-up of a game, it was good to see a full 3rd team with players to spare. Barbarians were short so thanks to Marko, Aaron and the others who played for them. The referee said that it was "a mess of a game" with both teams not playing at their best. The home team dominated with a good mixture of players. First senior tries for Dan Harris and Tom Hagan and with several of the old guard passing on advise this should help improve the teams performance. 

Sean Fraser.17/09/2007