The late withdrawal of Adam Proverbs on Saturday morning saw free-running prop Eric Reddy moved back into the second-row and nearer his natural position of outside-centre. Captain Chris Price was forced to shake himself out of his port-induced haze and take his place in the front row, with Tom Butcher called up from the seconds to the bench.

Cryptians came flying out of the blocks from the kick-off, playing with pace and ambition out of keeping with the heavy underfoot conditions.

A prolonged period of possession and patient build-up resulted in an inevitable overlap which allowed fly-half Rich Howell to slide over for the opening try of the contest. The conversion was missed, but Cryptians were playing with confidence, knowing a third victory of the season over their nearest rivals at the top of Gloucester Division Three would be a huge step towards their ambition of securing promotion by winning the league.

A further penalty from the boot of Marc Blackford saw the visitors open up an eight point advantage with half-time approaching.

But Westbury are a strong and determined unit and with their usual abrasive and direct approach they came charging back at Cryptians. A kick ahead had Cryptians scrambling near their own line and Marc Stubbs was guilty of killing the ball and earning ten minutes in the sin bin. This was his fourth yellow card of the season, adding fuel to the rumours that he's doing it on purpose to get ten minutes rest.

Westbury drove the ball over in the corner, making instant use of their one-man advantage, but were unable to convert the try into a seven-pointer on the stroke of half-time.

HALF TIME - WESTBURY 5 - 8 OLD CRYPTIANS

The second half was a real arm-wrestle, with most of the play taking place between the two twenty-two metre lines.

A sustained period of Cryptians pressure resulted in a penalty in front of the Westbury posts. Instead of slotting the simple three points, Cryptians took a quick tap and tried to sneak a try. The travelling support were stunned by the call, but two further tap penalties later left the referee with little option but to send a Westbury player to the sinbin. This final penalty was kicked by Josh Flounders, so Cryptians had taken a significant risk, but came away with three points and a man advantage with only 15 minutes to go.

This last period was as attritional as the rest of the match, but Cryptians were not to be denied the victory. Westbury threw everything they had at the visitors, but Cryptians showed real resolve and determination to come away with what could prove to be a crucial four points come the end of the season.

FINAL SCORE - WESTBURY 5 - 11 OLD CRYPTIANS

Old Cryptians RFC

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