Weather
Ciren stun their hosts
From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Tuesday 29th Oct 2002.
CIRENCESTER 2nds launched an astonishing second-half comeback to pip their Minety counterparts 28-26.
Trailing by 26 points at the interval, Ciren looked dead and buried before scoring four unanswered tries to snatch an unlikely victory.
Minety were missing a number of key players among the backs, including injured captain Mike Strong and vice-captain Alistair Grierson.
Yet in the first half they more than made up for these losses, with a forceful pack and an outstanding back row of flankers Tony Lee and Gerry Smith and No 8 Simon Strong controlling the game.
Strong scored the initial try, beating two tackles as he sprinted in to score from halfway. Smith followed it up with an impressive hat-trick of tries.
The first came from a catch and drive move at a five metre lineout before a driving maul by the pack allowed him to peel off for the second.
The treble was completed five minutes later when Strong again broke from the base of a scrum and popped the ball to scrum-half Rodney Park, who committed the defence before putting Smith away.
Park added the conversion his third in four attempts and Minety appeared to be in total control.
However, Cirencester had narrowly missed scoring on three occasions in the first half. But after the interval their back line clicked.
Minety suffered a blow when flanker Lee was forced to leave the field through injury. His presence was sorely missed and Cirencester gradually gained dominance, running in four converted tries to steal the match.
Minety play host to Somerset visitors Frome 3rds on Saturday.
Local Advertisers
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
