Ten Bears Academy players were in dual-reg action over the weekend, with an outstanding comeback win for Old Reds against Loughborough.
National League Two West
Old Redcliffians 49-38 Loughborough Students
Gethin O’Callaghan started at outside centre for Old Redcliffians as the Bristol-based side beat Loughborough Students 49-38.
The Students raced into an early lead, scoring three tries inside the opening 10 minutes to lead 21-0.
A Jalen Curry try from the back of a driving maul in the 15th minute cut the deficit to 14 points as Old Reds looked to build themselves back into the game.
Loughborough replied to the setback quickly, scoring two tries, one on either wing, in quick succession to take the score to 33-7, after just 21 minutes.
In the second half of the first period, the hosts began to ignite their comeback as back row pair Ethan Doyle and Sam Taylor crossed the whitewash, making the half time score 33-21 in favour of the away side.
Old Reds started quickly in the second half, scoring two early tries to take the lead for the first time in the match, 35-33.
Both teams traded tries in the middle section of the second half, making it a four point game with just a couple of minutes to play.
In the 78th minute, Old Reds scored again to extend their lead to 49-38 as Curry rumbled over for his second try of the game, again from the back of a driving maul.
Victory for the hosts means that they climb to third in the table ahead of their clash with Hornets next weekend.
National League One
Rosslyn Park 61-24 Dings Crusaders
Tomas Gwilliam, Kofi Cripps, Deago Bailey and Sam Edwards were on the scoresheet as Dings Crusaders were beaten 61-24 by Rosslyn Park.
Joined by Jimmy Halliwell, Paddy Pearce and Aaron Tull, the Crusaders faced a Park side who were relentless in the first half, leading 42-0 at the interval.
A hattrick scored by Joe Luca Smith in addition to tries for Joshua Bragman, Benji Marfo and Jordan Martin helped a rampant Rosslyn Park pile a huge number of points onto their opponents in the first period.
Dings fired back early in the second half through Gwilliam, who steered a driving maul over the line after the hosts conceded a penalty directly from the kick off.
Park replied with two more scores, both including effective kicks, to see Marfo and Charlie Mulchrone cross the paint.
Now 56-5 down, with just over 30 minutes to play, the Crusaders fought hard, setting their sights on at least a bonus point.
Loosehead prop, Louie Trevett, was introduced as Cripps dove over from the back of another Dings driving maul to score their second try of the afternoon.
Four minutes later, the visitors scored again as Deago Bailey regathered a chip in behind the Rosslyn Park defence to dot down under the posts.
In the 69th minute, Dings secured the try-scoring bonus point as Edwards crashed over after a clever pick and go saw him evade the Park defence, taking the score to 56-34.
Ewan Fenley crossed the line late in the game as Rosslyn Park ran out 61-24 victors.
Next weekend, Dings Crusaders host Darlington Mowden Park, a team that sit bottom of the division, still looking for their first win of the season.
National League Two West
Exeter University 33-37 Hornets
Tighthead prop, Sam Scott, was named player of the match as Hornets won 37-33 away to Exeter University.
Alongside Ethan Surrey, Scott’s side started the game under a lot of pressure from the Exeter attack but defended admirably, counterattacking in the 11th minute to take the lead as Owen Griffith crossed the line under the posts.
Exeter responded quickly, Finn Worley-Brady crashed over for the University side, levelling the score.
Luke McMullan, Corey Baker and Josh Sheppard all scored first half tries to build Hornets score with their opposition only able to pull one back through co-captain Sam Erskine.
A brilliant first half effort from the visitors saw them lead 29-12 at the break.
Hornets started the second period in the same clinical fashion as to how they played the first, a break down the wing for Charlie Carter saw the full back touch down for his teams fifth try of the afternoon.
After a Hornets penalty goal in the 56th minute, Exeter began to work their way back in to the match with Connor Byrne, Lewis O’Grady and Robert Gaffan all crossing the line for the Devonian side, as they looked to mount a remarkable comeback.
With at least 10 minutes still to play, the visitors did brilliantly to hold onto their 37-33 lead, seeing out the game with an impressive defensive performance.
Next weekend the Hornets will be back in action at the Nest as they host rivals Old Redcliffians.
