Western Counties North
Bristol Harlequins 52
Drybrook 0
DRYBROOK slipped further into the relegation mire with this heavy defeat in Bristol.
They are still searching for their first win of 2011.
Ill-equipped to compete in the scrummage, Drybrook were soon behind to a pushover try.
They continued to struggle up front throughout, with the back-row constantly having to clean up.
On 18 minutes, another powerful Quins scrum enabled them to spin the ball wide for a second try.
Drybrook were guilty of a lapse of concentration following a scrum in their own 22.
The ball was again tidied up behind the set piece, but instead of a clearing kick, the ball was passed, dropped and pounced on by Quins.
Drybrook skipper Lee Ward was yellow carded soon after for killing the ball and a weakened Drybrook pack turned the ball over on halfway. Quins outpaced the defence to score another try under the posts.
Drybrook, to their credit, tried to run the ball as much as possible and a move involving Danny Griffiths and Simon Rugman almost brought reward, but was stopped a couple of metres short of the line.
Just before half-time, Quins drove up the middle of the field and a series of rucks sucked in the Drybrook defence, creating an overlap which was clinically exploited for another try.
Trailing 33-0, Drybrook kept plugging away. Quins scored in the corner, then, a loose ball was seized upon by their full-back – who ran 50m through a lacklustre defence to get to the line.
This punishing defeat was completed when, following some desperate defending by Drybrook, the ball popped out of a ruck and Quins picked up and dived over.
The Drybrook back-row of Dan Price, Lee Ward and Peter Meek worked hard, with Tom Treherne the only other player to come out of the game with much credit.
Drybrook: Simon Rugman, Tony Paull, Steve Williams, Dan Griffiths, Dan Large, Chris Rawlings, Tom Treherne, Ian Pritchard, Dean Jelf, Steve Virgo, Ben Warren, Dean Large, Lee Ward (capt), Dan Price, Peter Meek. Reps: Dan Cox, Tony Suter, Richard Roberts.