Smiths hit the buffers vs Ciren
Smiths Rugby were beaten 43-7 at home against a well-drilled and skilful Cirencester RFC.
With Ciren having been relegated into Gloucester 1 last season and Smiths earning promotion, some would say the result went with their respective status. Smiths however have been playing some of their best rugby in recent years in the last few weeks and expected a closer contest.
Despite winning their own ball and disrupting the away team's set piece, Smiths were unable to engage Ciren in the fast-paced phase play and wasted opportunities they had. This proflagracy was mirrored in the defence with tackles missed or ineffective. There were positive moments for Smiths throughout the match, including fly half Doug Long spotting gap to touch down, but to few and far between to really get a foothold in the game. As Smiths chased the game in the second half Ciren took advantage of some mistakes and picked off some easy tries. Hopefully a game to move on from and Smiths will have the chance to do just that vs Dursley away and North Bristol at home in the next two weeks. Smiths Hamsters provided a more positive story with 36-33 win vs Longlevens 3s. A first half display of excellent running rugby with Smiths playing with 14 against 15 Longlevens players. This was shown by 4 tries scored through excellent handling and heads up rugby, scorers were Chris Walker, Callum Pirie, Sam Wilson and Cliffy Bere rolling back the years to score in the corner. Will Pritchett converting 3 of the 4compared to the Longlevens 2 tries. In the second half playing up the hill Longlevens kick off was executed twice perfectly to regather the ball and score 2 well worked tries. Smiths responded with 2 of their own by charging up the pitch and courtesy of Pritchett's boot gaining valuable ground. A late flurry of tries by Longlevens battled the score to 36-33 and made for a thrilling contest for all that were watching and playing.