Magnificent 14 bury Hill

Stroud played down the slope first half with a strong wind behind them, knowing it was critical to get points on the board. The Stroud forwards were dwarfed by their opponents in all positions and were also a man short in the scrum, a huge effort from the front row of Gareth Culpan, Sam Davis and Ollie Kirkham saw the first Berry Hill scrum taken against the head much to the surprise of the large home crowd.

Astute kicking from standoff Jake Marsh saw the Nomads spending most of the time in the Berry Hill half however excellent defense was making it impossible to score a try. Berry Hill were penalized at a ruck and scrum half Joe Ashenford slotted the kick to open the scoring. The Nomads continued to put the pressure on with wingers James Morton and Alex Powell looking dangerous making good ground out wide.
The Stroud backs were always looking ambitious with the ball in hand, captain Chris Toon fed the ball to full back Jordan Phipps who came into the line at pace, he then weaved his way through the Berry Hill defence to score the opening try converted by Ashenford.

The Nomads were soon back putting the pressure on with a superb break from Tom Flanagan who feed Sam Leworthy who bulldozed his way through the Berry Hill defence, the only way he could be stopped was illegal resulting in a penalty for Stroud, slotted over by Ashenford. With half time close approaching Nomads opted for a kick at goal from the half way line, Ashenford was unlucky to see his effort just go the wrong side of the post.

Half time Nomads lead 13-0. The Berry Hill team were now confident of a win with the wind and slope in their favour, it was not long before they scored two trys with one converted. The Nomads then changed tactics with veterans Matt Leworthy and Geoff Ashenford slowing the game down and disrupting rucks and mauls.

When Nomads did get the ball Sam Leworthy looked very dangerous and always made good ground one time feeding Jordan Phipps who had the ball knocked from his hands just as he was about to score, the second time feeding Ashenford who came just short of the line only to lose the ball. The line outs were functioning well with Elliott Ridler taking good clean catches at the front of the line.

Berry Hill were next to score with the conversion missed, with only three points between the teams the remaining ten minutes was a very tense time, not helped by the unfortunate sin-binning of Ashenford, Nomads were now down by two players. It was pure grit and determination from the whole team that kept Hill at bay in the final minutes to secure an astonishing win against all odds.

Man of the match Sam Leworthy who showed excellent skill both in attack and defence.

Nomads next game at home March 14th 14.30k.o.