Gordano missing out on bonus points

GORDANO Shark’s elusive search for a winning bonus point will have to wait another week after they again failed to score four tries, despite being comfortable winners against a Tor team at Caswell Lane.

Full-back Ash Cottrall opened the scoring after five minutes following a well-worked move which saw him dive over the line. Tim Statton then broke from the back of a maul to outsprint the defence to score near to the posts.

Joe Harris shrugged off jet lag having returned from Australia the previous day and stormed through on one of his customary runs to bounce the defence over the line. Twenty-five minutes gone and three tries in the bag, Gordano looked well on the way to the coveted bonus point. Tor had other ideas and scored two tries of their own due to some basic defensive errors from the home side.

Having been out of sight in the first quarter, Gordano had been pegged back to 17-12 at half-time. The game now looked in the balance. Despite being dominant in the scrum and half-backs Joe Rowsall and Ben Clarke constantly threatening, Gordano had little to show for their efforts until the 70th minute when Rowsall kicked a penalty to seal a 20-12 win.

Gordano are now fifth in Somerset Premier League having lost only once in the first six games of the season. It is their lack of ruthlessness to finish sides off and claim the vital bonus point that is their undoing currently.

With several key players out injured and due back shortly, Gordano are determined to rectify this situation soon. Coach Kevin Instance said: “We appreciate the value of bonus points in the league. If a side goes through the whole season without picking any up, it is like losing an addition six games.

“It is not as if we are only just winning games. We have scored three tries on four occasions and are just missing out on that extra score. Our £80,000 floodlight project will hopefully be completed this week. This will be a great boost, meaning we can train longer and harder.

“Also the 300-strong junior section will benefit and continue the strong production line into the senior sections.”