Hartpury College RFC back to winning ways in style
Ross Moriarty grabbed a brace of tries as Hartpury College ended Bournemouth’s unbeaten home record in emphatic style with a 43-7 victory at Chapel Gate.
The visitors were on the scoreboard as early as the fifth minute when Ian Clark finished off Craig Jackson’s break on the right wing, with the latter adding the conversion.
Skipper Chris Fortey doubled Hartpury’s try tally on the quarter-hour mark when he broke off a driving maul to touch down out wide.
Jack Hayes added a third five-pointer when he scampered over on the blindside of a scrum following a simple move involving number eight Nathan Thomas and scrum half Brad Field.
And Hartpury almost secured the four-try bonus point seven minutes later when Clark broke the line and appeared to be clear.
Instead, the flier was hauled down inches short and then lost to a head injury, with Fortey following within a minute after a knock to the shoulder.
This disruption to the Hartpury’s rhythm allowed a brief period of respite for the hosts as the half concluded, but the visitors’ determined defensive rearguard kept their clean sheet intact.
Their flow was immediately restored after the interval, and Billy Burns was tackled just short of the whitewash as he glided through a hole in the Bournemouth defence.
But the away side were not to be denied for long as a bruising carry off a scrum from Alex Dancer, returning after nine months out injured, set the platform for lock Harry Casson to finally seal the bonus point, converted by Jackson.
The Gloucestershire side’s phase play at times was top drawer, and such a passage of play resulted in Moriarty’s first score on 52 minutes as the England U20 international gathered Burns’ perfect long pass.
Bournemouth, who had recorded convincing victories over Canterbury and Chinnor in their previous two home outings, hit back with their only score through Sam Hardcastle 10 minutes later.
Following a period of pressure sustained over several minutes, the Lions were awarded a five-metre scrum, and number nine Hardcastle darted down the vacant short side to ground the ball for a try. Ben Stevenson converted.
Hartpury continued to press, and as their Dorset opponents tired, centre Seb Rodwell burst through some despairing tackles for his team’s sixth try, with Jackson converting once again.
And Moriarty capped a superb victory for Hartpury on the stroke of full time when he stormed through a gap on halfway and rounded the stranded fullback.
Hartpury College would like to thank Bournemouth for their excellent hospitality and look forward to welcoming them to the College for the return fixture in January.
Hartpury’s next match is at home to Barking on Saturday 6th October.
Final score: Bournemouth 7-43 Hartpury College
Hartpury scorers
Tries: Moriarty (2), Clark, Hayes, Casson, Rodwell
Conversions: Jackson (4)
Hartpury squad
Marsden; Hayes, Jackson, Rodwell, Clark; Burns, Field; Gibbons, Fortey, Crompton; Stooke, Casson; Moriarty, Woodburn, Thomas. Reps: O’Connell (Fortey 29), Cano (Crompton 70), Raven (Woodburn 64), Stuart-Smith (Burns 64), Dancer (Clark 28)
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