Iffley Road, Oxford – Sunday 19th November 2017

Match report by Alex Inch, photos by Simon Grieve.

In a repeat of April’s final from last season Banbury Bulls were up against Oxford Greyhounds at Iffley road. Kicking off in sunny but cold conditions Banbury were prepared for a tough fixture.

Banbury got off to the perfect start and settled any early nerves when Jack Briggs smashed his way over on his full debut for Banbury Bulls. Good work from the Bulls defence did a great job to win a scrum 5 metres out. From the scrum Sam Stoop slipped in Jack Briggs who was running a charging line and the greyhounds defence was unable to keep him out. Joe Mills added the extras to give the bulls and early 7-0 lead.

Pete Boulton added to the lead with a fine solo try from the big tight head. Joe Mills made the initial break before the ball was recycled. Pete Boulton picked up off the base of the ruck and smashed his way through 3 defenders before touching the ball down just to the left of the posts. Joe Mills converted to give Banbury a 14-0 lead.

Tom Dyer narrowed the gap with a penalty after the Bulls were penalised for hands in the ruck to make it 14-3.

Banbury extended their lead with another Pete Boulton try. Quick hands from Joe Winpenny slipped Pete Boulton in who crashed over from close range near the base of the post. A nice try for the big prop and an assist for Joe Winpenny against his employers added to the noisy light-hearted atmosphere. Joe Mills converted to make it 21-3.

Banbury were in again shortly after. Joe Mills made a brilliant run from the back of a scrum on the halfway line before drawing the last man and playing in Sam Stoop. Sam Stoop handed off the covering defender before touching down out to the left. Joe Mills converted to make it 28-3.

Oxford Greyhounds responded with a try of their own almost immediately. Some good work from the forwards saw them within 5 metres of the Banbury try line before getting the ball out wide and Patrick Haughton touched down in the corner. Tom Dyer couldn’t add the tricky extras from the side-line, 28-8.

The Bulls added another score just before halftime. Sam Stoop threw a lovely pass to get the ball out wide for Tommy Gray who drew the last defender and played in Alex Gandy who outsprinted the covering defenders to touch down in the right corner. Joe Mills couldn’t convert to leave the scores 33-8 at halftime.

Oxford Greyhounds came out the changing room for the second half looking pumped up and determined to get back into the game. Their effort was rewarded early on as well, the forwards showed some great technique to have a rolling maul that was flying down the pitch. Daniel Radigan eventually being the man to touch the ball down over the line. The conversion was missed but the lead was narrowed to 33-13.

It wasn’t long before Greyhounds scored again with a brilliant try from Tobias Clarke. The pacey winger made a nice break down the left on the halfway line before breaking his way through a tackle, cutting inside, stepping the covering defence and touching down under the posts. Tom Dyer converted to leave the scores 33-20.

Alex Gandy looked like he’d scored for Banbury in the corner, but the referee hadn’t seen a clear grounding. It didn’t keep Banbury out for long though. From the resulting scrum Sam Stoop whipped the ball wide to Tommy Gray who played in Dan Brady who acrobatically dived his way over in the opposite corner. Ed Phillips took over the kicking duties but pushed his first attempt wide, 38-20.

Oxford Greyhounds continued their strong start to the second half with another fine solo effort. Charlie Pozniak burst his way through the Banbury defensive line before touching down under the posts. Tom Dyer converted the try, 38-27.

George Grieve settled any nerves that might be creeping in for Banbury when he scored wide to the right. Alex Gandy made a break before offloading to George Grieve, the winger still had a lot to do but he smashed his way through the last man in the corner before cutting inside to make the conversion attempt easier. Ed Phillips added the extras to make it 45-27.

Banbury finished the game strongly and still had time for one more score before the full-time whistle. Banbury’s scrum which had been dominant all day got their reward for their great effort they had put in. Despite a couple cynical penalties, the third scrum proved to be too much for Greyhounds. Some great footwork from Jacob Mills at the back of the scrum got the ball to the try line before he touched the ball down himself. Ed Phillips couldn’t add the extras, but the score was 50-27 at the full-time whistle.

Pete Boulton was awarded Banbury’s Man of the Match. 2 great tries but also some brilliant work in defence and in the scrum capped off a fine performance from the big tight head.

Speaking to Matt Goode after the win: “I’m very happy with the win, you’ve got to be when you score 50 points. We missed a couple opportunities and we gave them lots, but I think overall to get a good win and get some young boys out playing decent rugby is good. We’ve got really good strength in depth and the players that came in have given a really good performance.”

After last week’s defeat was it important to show what you were capable of with an improved performance? “Absolutely, the league is the league but the cup’s a totally different ball game. You only get one chance and we knew that, we had a game plan and focused on that. The win will definitely lift the boys which we can take into training on Tuesday and Thursday before the game against Swindon.”

On the possibility of 3 cup wins in a row: “It would be amazing, I mean why not? 3 cup wins would be incredible and to write some history for the club would be awesome.”

On next week’s game against Swindon: “We want 5 points, nothing less. We’ll play maybe a different style of rugby, but I think there’s a lot of places up for grabs. A lot of players are pushing for places and they’ve got to perform. Those boys that are privileged enough to wear the shirt know that they’ve got to work hard to keep it. Hopefully that’ll be enough to get the win next Saturday.”

Try scorers: Pete Boulton (2) Jack Briggs, Sam Stoop, Alex Gandy, Dan Brady, George Grieve and Jacob Mills.

Banbury Line-up:

15. Tommy Gray (Sponsored by: Edd Frost & Daughters)
14. Dan Brady
13. Jack Briggs
12. Matt Goode (Sponsored by: Hook Norton Crop Consultancy)
11. Alex Gandy
10. Sam Stoop (Sponsored by: H Colegrave & Son)
9. Joe Mills (Sponsored by: DTC International)

1. Joe Winpenny
2. Ian Isham (Captain) (Sponsored by: Fieldcraft)
3. Pete Boulton (Sponsored by: BRUFC SAGA Department)
4. Matt Brock
5. Sam Carr-Archer
6. Jacob Mills
7. Giles Saar (Sponsored by: Jamie Briggs Removals & Storage)
8. Chris Phillips (Sponsored by: Lorne Alway)

Replacements:

16. Ken Key (Sponsored by: Lockwoods Ski and Outdoor)
17. Michael Fox
18. Callum Horne
19. Ed Phillips (Sponsored by: P Montanaro – ITSM Consultancy)
20. George Grieve