ROSSLYN PARK 62 BRIDGWATER AND ALBION 24

HIGH-FLYING Rosslyn Park controlled the game throughout but, despite being reduced to 14 men because of injury for the final 20 minutes, the Somerset side stuck well to their task and gained their first away point.

Park scored four tries in the first half of the game through Billy O'Driscoll, Howard Quigley, Morgan Jones and Rob Jewell, three of which were converted by Rob Laidlaw, who also slotted home one of the two penalty chances he had.

Bridgwater got themselves on the scoresheet with a try from scrum-half Jack Kohler on his 18th birthday, converted by fit again Greg Charlton, with Matt Hastie added a second before the break following good work by debutant John Frost.

The Rosehampton-based side added a further five tries in the second half – Jones, Laidlaw, James Strong, Will Collier and Johnny Barrett being the scorers, with four more conversions from Laidlaw.

However, even though Bridgwater were a man short for the final quarter because of injuries to props, they managed two further tries, the first through Will Topps, which Kohler converted, and the second from Hastie to give the visitors a try-scoring bonus point.

Reflecting on the trip to Roehampton. head coach Nick Hill said: "The spirit of the boys was absolutely brilliant and they gave it all they had, especially when you think we had several third-teamers in the line-up who did really well and there were others playing out of position.

"We also managed to score four tries at Rosslyn Park and the only other side to achieve that feat is Barking, who are top of the table.

"We seem to be scoring more tries just lately than we have been doing in the past, which I think is down to the style of rugby that we are playing.

"Matt Hastie was brilliant again and scored two tries, as was Steve Hunt who gives it his all and is proving to be a good captain.

"Jack Kohler is only 18 but he really is a talent and is going to be something special.

"He tackles like a demon, he runs well with the ball and is a real menace to any team that we play against.

"Jack will get a chance to make a home debut in the game against Henley on Saturday and the crowds will take to him I know."

Despite being bottom of the table, Hill said that the atmosphere at the club is good.

"Mike Berry, the Bridgwater president, and a lot of other people just can't believe the atmosphere that there is at the club at the moment and the way that the players are performing," he said.

"Anybody looking in from outside might think that after losing a number of players from the first team squad that morale would be low – but that just isn't the case.

"I took the lads out for a curry on Thursday night after training, which went down well and is really good for team bonding, so I think we will be looking to do that on a regular basis."

On Saturday, Bridgy entertain Henley at Bath Road, kicking off at 3pm.

The Oxfordshire side occupy 11th place in National League Two South and last weekend drew 19-19 at home to Ealing.