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South West One West

Kingsbridge 7

Kingsbridge travelled to Drybrook in good heart after their last couple of results but were soon brought down to earth as they were outplayed by a powerful home side.

The game was overshadowed by an injury to hooker James Westlake, who popped his knee within the first 10 minutes of the game.

This injury unsettled the visitors and they were further hampered when number eight Jack Cope had to leave the field with a back injury.

The game kicked off at a frantic pace and it was not long before Kings were under some considerable pressure.

Drybrook were dominant in all aspects, their powerful pack made inroads into the visitors’ half and it was only their last-minute decision making that saw them squander at least six scoring chan­ces.

Kings were gallant in defence, Jon Merrin and Isaac Ray­worth standing tall throughout the game.

Struggling throughout, Kings were constantly being penalised and it was from one of these that Drybrook started the scoring with a catch and drive from a line-out on the Kings line.

Another almost identical try followed to leave the score 10-0 at half time.

The second half followed much the same pattern, although the visitors had moments of good possession and at least made it into the opposition 22 with a couple of opportunities to score. But Drybrook withstood and continued to put points on the board, going to a 30-point lead.

This young Kings side never gave up and came back scoring a fine try, started by a good run by Rayworth.

A clever kick from centre Ben Newman then saw replacement Freddie Buckle gather and go over for Kings first points. Fly-half George Jones added the conversion with a great touchline kick. Back came the home side, however, with a final try leaving the final score 35-7.

A setback for Kings, but with the courage displayed they should hopefully see a turnaround in results.