Berry Hill United 26

Dursley 5

Stubbornly sticking to the best traditions of rugby, Berry Hill United still pay match day subs to help cover the costs of their after-match meals and to meet the laundry bill.

But that does not stop them having a good time and both on an off the field they are enjoying a pre-Christmas run of success.

Dursley were the visitors to Lakers Road on Saturday for a friendly, comfortably won by the Forest team who outscored their visitors by four tries to one.

It was the United's fourth consecutive win. In the more serious Merit Table for Second XV's they now occupy a mid-table position and recently pulled off an excellent and encouraging result beating table-topping Keynsham

"It's not all doom and gloom at Berry Hill," said United spokesman John Belcher.

"The second team is full of young players and they are getting better by the week. It is part of the club's rebuilding programme and on and off the field things are not going too badly. For instance we are refurbishing the clubhouse and reforming the Colts team for the cup competition," he said.

But Belcher is under no illusions.

"The fact is we just can't compete with some of the money flying round. Match day subs are a fact of life for us and while we don't mind losing players who want to try their hand at a higher level it is upsetting when players move away for other reasons," he said.

Dursley provided a stern test for the United and for a long period the game could have swung either way. But Berry Hill's pack gained the upper hand and finished the strongest.

Tries were scored by Nigel Tippins, Mark Gwynne, Rob Rawlings and captain and number eight Shaun McRoberts with Mike Wells making two conversions and John Evans (jnr), one.