Park enjoy their trip to Somerset

Bridgewater 15 - Rosslyn Park 49

The power of the Rosslyn Park pack was instrumental in the defeat of Jewson League II South Bridgewater at College Road on Saturday in the Tetley Bitter Cup.

A near gale force wind blew diagonally across the pitch, making kicking very difficult, resulting in Andy Maddock only succeeding with four out of five attempts at goal - pretty good given the conditions.

A first-minute penalty calmed any nerves Park might have had, but it wasn't until the 19th minute that Park scored again with a `trademark' Liam McCormick pushover try.

A poor restart saw the ball go straight to second row Andrew Craig who gained 20 metres and neat interplay saw Chris Ritchie score in the corner.

Bridgewater hit back when full back Simon Triggoll came into the line at pace, but Park had the last word in the first half, when Liam McCormick scored pushover try number two in first half injury time, and the sides turned round at 5-18.

After Park had conceded a needless penalty, Bridgewater gave possession back by kicking the ball dead, and from the drop out McCormick made 20 metres, and Paul Brady was put in the clear only to be tackled into touch at the corner flag. A suicidal quick throw gave possession back to Park and from the five-yard scrum, debutant scrum half Peter Willis touched down from a yard out, Maddock's conversion hitting the upright.

Willis, warming to the task then combined with Andy Maddock to put David Casado clear and the speedy winger went in under the posts for his seventh try of the season.

Another clean break by McCormick saw Paul Brady put Andy Maddock in under the posts and McCormick was soon featuring in the play as Paul Brady and prop John Cooke put left wing Crawford Henderson in for another score. Maddocks' third conversion made it 5-42.

A flurry of Park substitutions with all six being used led to a momentary lack of concentration which allowed Mark Curry to dive over from a five-yard penalty. Back came Park, and a beautiful dummy by Paul Brady set up James Wyatt for Park's eighth try, Maddock's conversion wrapping matters up.

But Bridgewater would not lie down, and in generous injury time, Andy Williams went over for a deserved score, and Park had negotiated, fairly comfortably, a tricky visit to Somerset.

The draw for the third round has pitted Park against Henley, who put 100 points on lowly Havant in Round Two.

Ruts ease to win in the wind

Surrey Police 8 - Old Rutlishians 32

A strong wind and badly timed wedding were key influences on this Tetley Vase match at Mount Browne. The police played with the wind in the first half - camping mostly in the visitors' half - and managed to turn round 8-3 ahead. Ruts were missing half a dozen players who were attending the nuptials of scrum-half Nick Pascall, but knew that with the wind behind them, victory was assured.

Graham Blenman was the first to strike, a crisp move putting him through the middle and his pace did the rest. Clinton Rowe converted and then made a try of his own, supporting well then chipping ahead before plunging over. Lee Gregory's powerful surges from the base of the scrum brought him two good tries, while Matt McKenna celebrated his return to the first team with a score from a tap penalty.

Overall it was satisfactory, if below par, performance for Ruts, but they must learn to keep their discipline. Back-chat and not retreating must have cost them more than 100 metres.

Rutlishians visit Old Haileyburians in the league on Saturday. Kick off 3pm.

Barnes' revenge

Barnes 41 - Old Reedonians 15

Barnes exacted a sweet revenge against Reedonians for their defeat in the league two weeks ago. The Old Boys won that encounter narrowly but in the return fixture, for a place in the third round of the NPI Cup, the Barnes backs played a crucial role in the final result.

Reeds had the edge in the scrums, sharing the lineouts with the excellent Hewitt winning so much ball.

Outside it was different; Barnes looked dangerous whenever they got the ball, the fact they didn't get much of it in the first half was due to a splendid performance from the Reeds' pack with Grundy producing yet another swashbuckling display rewarded with two bullocking tries, both of them from 10 metres out.

Bec come unstuck

Bec Old Boys 12 - Teddington 25

Fielding a largely experimental side to give new members a chance to show their paces, Bec came severely unstuck against a strong running Teddington team. Teddington made good use of their possession with strong running by their backs, in particular their fly-half who scored two tries. Bec squandered much possession with fruitless kicking and seldom showed cohesion.

Bec's reply to Teddington's four tries and a penalty goal came from one very good pushover which Tony White touched down and which was converted by Ian Nicholls.

Mitcham like it blowing in the wind

Mitcham 38 - Raynes Park II 14

Mitcham won this game comfortably despite a strong wind which hampered attempts to play open rugby. Mitcham reverted to a more simple driving game given the wind, into which they played in the first half. Fine work from the pack, especially Peter Brown and Neil Smith, Chris Walters and Barry Unwin helped Mitcham to a 14-7 half time lead, with tries from Paul Penfold and Chris Walters.

In the second half the backs imposed themselves on the game and, led by Gareth John (2 tries) and Paul Penfold (another try), Mitcham took full control of the game.

Neil Moseley added another try and Dave Howard and Paul McLaughlin managed four conversions between them.

Its coach Harrison'as player!

Old Wimbledonians 34 - Purley Fisher 24

Under-strength Old Wimbledonians visited Purley Fisher on Saturday for a friendly. After taking an early lead the OWs were put under pressure and approaching half-time were losing 14-3. OWs were not helped by injuries and after 20 minutes were down to 14 men.

Just before half-time quick handling put Ben Curtis over for the best try of the match and at half time OWs had cutthe deficit to 14-8. Coach John Harrison came on in the second half and within 10 minutes had created a try for Chris Kinder and scored one himself. Tommy Taberner converted and OWs were ahead 20-14. Purley came back and scored twice to lead again 24-20 but finally OWs won 34-24 with tries from James Kennedy and Roger Brosch.

Reshuffled Merton blow it

Merton 10 - Old Emanuel 22

Unavailabilities forced Merton to shuffle their side. Introducing youngsters Ben Burford and Adam Cawood to the second row, the latter for his first team debut, with veteran Tony Tabb coming in at full back.

They began in fine style, their fast rucking game presenting problems for the visitors from London South-West Three. They were rewarded with two tries from Dave Boyce, poaching in typical style, before Emanuel got back into the match with a converted try just before half-time.

Merton then appeared to rest on their laurels, allowing their opponents to dictate play. With possession from Steve Sheldrake and Burford in the line-out, and Cawood causing havoc in the loose, they continued to give Emanuel plenty to think about. Then the visitors took command, crossing for two scores from their back division, one being converted, and adding a penalty to complete a win.

This Saturday, Merton resume league action, entertaining Old Paulines.

For this match, Newark has brought back all this week's absentees.

Sutton fight back to win

Sutton and Epsom RFC 25 - Sevenoaks RFC 20

Sutton fought back from a 17-point deficit to record their fifth consecutive win against a sharp Sevenoaks side.

Sevenoaks started confidently in stark contrast to a sluggish Sutton and raced into a 10- point lead in as many minutes. First ex-Harlequins full-back Stuart Thresher burst through the Sutton defence before putting left wing Alan Jones over for a try near the corner. Then Sevenoaks, from a penalty, found touch five metres out from the Sutton line. A catch and drive from the lineout saw flanker Will Rudge cross the line for their second try.

Sutton managed to stem the tide for a while until the half hour, when Sevenoaks extended their lead from a tap penalty, lock Duncan Larcombe, taking advantage of weak tackling to score in the corner.

Within two minutes Sutton had struck back with a penalty kicked by fly-half David Nimb. Sevenoaks were not finished though and shortly before the interval a poor kick out of defence was caught by the dangerous Thresher, who made a strong run into Sutton's 22 and flicked a neat reverse pass to Jones, who scored his second try. Fortunately for Sutton the conversion was again missed but a 3-20 half time deficit looked too high to overcome.

However, within a minute of the restart, centre Jake Webber, made a big hit in mid-field. Sutton recovered the loose ball and his centre partner, Keith Middleton, slid a lovely grabber kick through the defence. His captain, wing, Jason Allibone, took advantage of a kind bounce to race over for Sutton's first try. Fly-half David Nimb converted from the touch line.

Sutton were then forced to withstand a period of intense Sevenoaks pressure with some solid tackling before further narrowing the gap with 20 minutes remaining. This time it was Thresher's clearance kick which missed touch and was fielded by Allibone, near halfway. He made an explosive run through half the Sevenoaks side and one-handed pass to Jeff Greenleaf gave the veteran prop the chance to demonstrate his remarkable speed to score wide on the left. The conversion was missed.

Within five minutes Nimb slotted another 40 metre penalty to bring Sutton within two points.

Sevenoaks were now flagging under the sustained pressure and with 10 minutes left the Sutton pack pushed them back in their own 22 for scrum-half Jack Daniels to snap up the loose ball and race over unopposed near the posts. Nimb converted.

Vandals need better defence

University Vandals U16s 43 - Readingensian's 27

University Vandals Under 16s maintained their unbeaten form. After beating Effingham at home last week 22-12, they beat a strong Readingensian's side 43-27 on Sunday. Four tries by Driver and one each for Bunn, Rowley and Griffiths would have been enough but the consistent kicking by Collins who slotted over four conversions made the Berkshire side suffer for not being able to cover their defence. Vandals also need to look to their own defence, and their speed to get to the breakdown, if they are to stage a serious assault on the Surrey Cup Championship this season.

Vandals' Mini and Junior Sections are looking for new members. For further details contact Stewart Ball on 0171 582 5555 (w), or 01932 853261 (h).

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