It was mission accomplished for the Gloucestershire Warriors as they earned a comfortable 40-24 win over Derby City at Chosen Hill. Two tries and four goals from full back Stephan Fourie helped them on their way to a win that sees them maintain the pressure on third-placed Bedford Tigers in the Midlands Premier table.
The Warriors were well in control of the game from the moment Marc Riddel plonked the ball over the try line after 13 minutes to cancel out Luke Braddo’s early try for City and could have won by a greater margin but for a late fade-out that saw City score three times in the final ten minutes.
“I thought we played well, today,” said coach Tom James. “We defended well and attacked with plenty of good ideas. We got a little excited at times but generally I was very happy with the way we went about things”.
Having edged into the lead, the Warriors set about extending their advantage.
On the back of three consecutive sets of tackles, Fourie stepped through the defence to score his first try and repeated the trick ten minutes later to see the Warriors 14-4 ahead.
City replied with a try in the corner but, just before the break, Alan Bryan slid over for the Warriors’ fourth try of the half to give the home side a ten-point cushion.
The next score would be crucial and when City lost the ball almost on the line 15 minutes into the second half, the game turned irrevocably the Warriors’ way.
James Comber ran a good line to blast over and the Warriors began to carve holes in the City defence. However, their handling let them down until fine interplay down the left put Ben Hough in for a try that Fourie converted.
From the kick off, Fourie combined with Ben Constantine who made the break before putting Josh Pettifer in for another excellent score. Fourie again improved the try.
Andy Claydon was then recalled after he had been harshly ruled to have been held in the tackle and City drew breath, responding through Mark Smith who ran a good line to score.
The game was sealed with a typically strong try from Constantine who shrugged off three or four tacklers to coast under the posts. Fourie converted.
City showed great heart and finished well with late scores from James Turner and Lee Tague who converted them both to give the scoreline respectability but with the win, the Warriors have assured themselves of at least fourth place in the table with three rounds remaining.
Teams:
GLOUCESTERSHIRE WARRIORS: Stephan Fourie, Ed Stallard, Ronnie Haines, Ben Constantine, Josh Pettifer, Al Bryan, Ben Hough (Capt.), Sonnie Williams, Andy Claydon, Simon Taylor, Dean Hobbs, Steve Davies, Marc Riddel. Replacements: Ian Riddel, Dennis Kenna, Tom James, Jimmy Comber, Danny Price.
Scorers: Tries; Marc Riddel (13), Stephan Fourie (17, 27), Al Bryan (39), Jimmy Comber (59), Ben Hough (65), Josh Pettifer (67), Ben Constantine (75). Conversions; Stephan Fourie 4 from 6, Al Bryan 0 from 1, Andy Claydon 0 from 1.
DERBY CITY: Ryan Manning, Stuart Kirkup, Mark Rollinson, Dave Bussell, Luke Braddo, Jon Cartlidge, Lee Chapman, Jean Baptiste, Lee Tague, Lee Steemson, Chris Lines, Adam Wilson, Mark Smith (Capt.). Replacements: Jo Burns, James Turner, Martyn Rothwell.
Scorers: Tries; Luke Braddo (2), Stuart Kirkup (36), Mark Smith (72), James Turner (77), Lee Tague (79). Conversions; Lee Tague 2 from 5.
Referee: Martin Edwards (Wales RLRS)
Star Man: Ian Riddel
Penalties: Warriors 9 City 9.
Scoring sequence: 0-4, 6-4, 10-4, 14-4, 14-8, 18-8, (HT), 22-8, 28-8, 34-8, 34-12, 40-12, 40-18, 40-24, (FT).
