Bees aim to do double over Bristol
Feb
In their second home Championship game in five days, Birmingham & Solihull will be looking for their second consecutive league win when they face Bristol at Damson Park this Sunday (6th February, Kick Off 3pm).
The Bees will also be aiming to “do the double” over their West Country visitors, having recorded a memorable 33-35 victory when the two sides met at the Memorial Stadium at the end of October. On that day, in his first game back for the Bees, the boot of fly half Mark Woodrow proved to be crucial with a successful conversion of Dan Sanderson’s last minute try giving his side an improbable victory.
Woodrow was in good kicking form last Wednesday night too, with a penalty and two conversions out of three helping Bees to secure a hard fought victory against Rotherham Titans in a “topsy-turvy” game. The Bees were 3-10 down at half time, but two tries by Semisi Taulava and a great individual touchdown by winger Ollie Grove gave the home side a 25-10 advantage with 15 minutes to go. Rotherham then mounted a spirited come back, scoring two converted tries in the space of two minutes, with the Bees clinging on to run out eventual 25-24 winners.
Assistant Coach Eugene Martin has named an unchanged side for the Bristol game – “Wednesday’s result was a great achievement for the boys, putting behind us the disappointment of the Moseley game. Bristol are a good side and come into this game on the back of an impressive win against London Welsh – they will present another stern test for us as we continue to try and bring a greater consistency to our performances”.
Sunday’s game will be the first visit to Damson Park for Bristol players and supporters, although former Bees’ winger Anthony Elliott will have some knowledge of local conditions.
The Bees side to face Bristol is: 1.Rob Dugard, 2.Ross McMillan (c), 3.Leo Halavatau, 4.Semisi Taulava, 5.Adrian Griffiths, 6.Rob Connolly, 7.Jack Preece, 8.Mark Hopley, 9.Rod Petty, 10.Mark Woodrow, 11.Mitch Culpin, 12.Sam Cox, 13.Will Lawson, 14.Ollie Grove, 15.Ollie Winter.
Replacements: 16.Nglau Tau, 17.Jack Bentall, 18.Ben Gerry, 19.Adam Clayton, 20.Jimmy Williams, 21.Ross Noonan, 22.Joe Reid
