In a repeat of last years county cup final, Banbury had been drawn against Witney. Banbury made the short trip on Friday night for a game under the floodlights. The game started in horrendous conditions which continued throughout the game. The Bulls kicked off into a strong head wind with torrential rain.

The first 10 minutes were a nervy affair and considering the conditions it appeared the game might descend into a niggly error prone contest. Still this didn’t prove to be the case, Banbury won a scrum against the head and countered quickly. Sam Stoop grubbered the ball through and Jack Briggs (12) dotted the ball down in the corner. Ed Phillips pushed his kick wide in near impossible kicking conditions. Witney 0 Banbury 5.

Banbury settled any early nerves with their second score. Duncan Leese did brilliantly to chase down a Witney back in the in-goal area, resulting in a 5-metre scrum to Banbury. The Bulls got the scrum rolling and Ed Berridge touched the ball down for his first score of the evening. Ed Phillips had another side-line conversion but was off target. 0-10.

Ed Berridge soon has his second try of the contest after a great break. Sam Stoop threw a lovely pass that pulled the Witney line all out of place and Ed Berridge burst through the Witney line. The big number 8 still had plenty to do but showed great pace to sprint his way over out to the right. Ed Phillips added the extras to make it 0-17.

Banbury started the second half how they ended the first. Ken Key setup a rolling maul inside the Witney 22 and it was soon rolling its way towards the try line. Ed Phillips and Sam Stoop joined on the back and it was Ed Phillips who was the man to touch down. Much to the delight to the rest of the backs (and the horror of the pack) Ed Phillips picked himself up to convert his own try, 0-24.

Banbury were in again almost immediately after the restart, Sam Stoop picked off a Witney pass, got the ball to Ed Berridge and as the number 8 looked like he was about to be driven into touch he showed brilliant skill to offload the ball back to Sam Stoop who slid his way over out to the left. Ed Phillips curled a nice conversion round with the wind to leave it 0-31.

Witney got on the scoreboard after a number of phases saw them eventually crossover from close range. Wayne Caffekey crashing his way over under the posts. Phil Thomas converted, 7-31.

Banbury extended the lead with another try. The Bulls won a scrum against the head which quickly turned into a Banbury penalty. Banbury went back to the scrum and then quickly got the ball out to the backs. Ed Phillips passed to Sam Stoop and the fly-half found his way through a gap in the Witney line to score out to the left for his second try of the game. Ed Phillips converted to make it 7-38.

Witney narrowed the gap when Carl Strut burst his way through the Banbury line, running a lovely angle to go in untouched under the posts. Phil Thomas added the extras to make it 14-38.

Banbury responded with a quick try of their own. Witney tried to chip there way out from close to their own try line, but Banbury countered well, Sam Stoop got it wide to Jack Briggs who played in Tom Burman down the side-line to score in the left corner. Ed Phillips couldn’t convert from the side-line, 14-43.

Banbury got one more score in extra time. Witney were on the edge of the Banbury 22, but Ed Berridge intercepted a Witney pass and was sprinting into open ground. As the Witney backs closed in, he tried to offload to anyone in red, but the ball fell to the ground. Ed Phillips kicked through off the deck and Witney gathered the ball 1 metre from their own try line. Witney cleared their lines, but the strong wind held the ball up and Banbury countered back from the edge of the 22. Joe Mills beat one man before offloading to Ian Isham who broke through the last man and dived over out to the left. Ed Phillips conversion went wide to leave the scores 14-48 at the full-time whistle.

A great performance from the Bulls. Considering the conditions Banbury played some brilliant rugby and kept the error count very low despite the wind and rain. Ed Berridge was Banbury’s man of the match. His 3rd MOM award in 4 games. Two tries capped a fantastic performance but the chances he created for other with great runs and individual skills constantly kept Banbury on the front foot.

Speaking to Coach James Kerr after the game:

14-48 win vs Witney in what can only be described as horrendous conditions, you’ve got to be happy with that? “It was really good, the boys set the dominance in the set piece. The scrum was outstanding, the lineout was good considering the conditions. We stole quite a few and put them under pressure from the first minute. We did a great job of taking the opportunities when they came. We played wisely in the conditions, protected the ball. I was expecting a scrappier game, a lot of knock-ons and unforced errors considering the conditions, but the boys were fantastic.”

You settled the early nerves with two early scores, but you did a great job of managing the game from there on, was that a big factor? “Definitely the boys did a great job controlling throughout. I thought Sam Stoop did a great job from fly half organising the boys. The pack were fantastic, they set the tone and then the backs fed off that, scoring some really nice tries.”

You’ve beaten last year finalists; how special would it be for you and as a club to lift that trophy for a 4th time in a row? “It has to be one of the key targets for this year. We all want to do it again. It’s our cup and it’s ours to lose and we’ve got to make sure we keep it in Banbury.”

Ed Berridge was your man of the match, what stood out for you today? “His skill level, his intensity and probably one of the sexiest offloads you’ll see in rugby. He was fantastic.”

Banbury Scorers:
Tries: Ed Berridge (2) Sam Stoop (2) Jacko Briggs, Ed Phillips, Tom Burman and Ian Isham.
Conversions: Ed Phillips (4)