A revitalised Banbury squad battled to a 21-15 victory against Brighton. Two tries from man of the match, Tom Burman, helped the Bulls to victory.

Following a week off the Bulls were able to welcome back a number of players from injury. Callum Horne, James Hibbert, Ed Berridge all returned to the Banbury pack following injuries in the first two games. Matt Goode started for the first time this season and Soane Tonga’uiha was named on the bench for his first action in a Banbury shirt since joining the club.

Banbury started the game on the front foot and found themselves in the lead in the opening minutes. Banbury had a scrum close to the Brighton try line and the backs used this platform to attack down the blindside with Tommy Gray playing in Tom Burman down the left wing for the opening try. Ed Phillips added a tricky conversion with a little help from the post to make it 7-0.

Brighton responded almost immediately with a try of their own. Aled Edwards scoring down the left wing. Although a forward pass in the build up suggested the try shouldn’t have been given. Conversion missed, 7-5.

Angus North was yellow carded for Brighton after he was penalised for a late tackle and Banbury took advantage of the extra man to extend the lead. Banbury chipped in behind and the opposition fly-half fumbled the ball, allowing Tommy Gray to easily gather and score under the posts. Converted, 14-5.

Brighton added a penalty to narrow the lead to 14-8 but Banbury added one more try before half time. Matt Goode played Tom Burman through a hole in the Brighton defence, Burman still had plenty to do before scoring, but the winger broke one tackle before outsprinting the covering defenders to score a fantastic solo try. Converted, 21-8.

The second half was a lot more open than the first as Brighton tried to find a way back into the game. Brighton got a deserved try mid-way through the second half after good offloading allowed Peter Sowerby to score under the posts for the away side. Converted, 21-15.

Banbury adjusted well though and some late replacements allowed them to take back control of the match again. Twice the Bulls turned down kickable penalties to try and secure a try bonus point but unfortunately Banbury couldn’t find the try their play deserved. Brighton very good at stopping a rolling maul, not always legally…

In added time Banbury had a driving maul held up over the line to bring up the full-time whistle which came with mixed emotions. The try bonus point had been so close so many times, but Banbury had got back to winning ways and picked up their first win at home this season.

A good performance from Banbury. The players that came back in looked good and the areas that Banbury have been working on have started to click. The Bulls have performed well in recent weeks with little to show for it, so it was great to see them get the victory they deserved on Saturday. Heads could have easily started to drop but the boys have put the work in and got their rewards at the weekend. Tom Burman was selected as Banbury’s man of the match. Two tries as well as a brilliant try saving tackle capped a great overall performance.

Match Stats:
Tries: Tom Burman (2) Tommy Gray
Conversions: Ed Phillips (3)

Speaking to Head Coach, Soane Tonga’uiha, after the game:
21-15, back to winning ways, you’ve got to be happy with that performance today?
“Yeah, definitely. Great first half. We targeted the opening ten minutes and then fought for every ten minutes after that. Everything went to plan. The forwards played well, the boys fronted up. Backs got the ball out well and got the danger men on the ball and came up with a good result today.
Ninety percent of that first forty minutes we were really good. The boys executed what we’d worked on all week and followed the gameplan we’d put together for this game. There are still areas we need to work on. The boys said that themselves at half time. In terms of that preparation the boys are starting to transition what we work on in training into matches now and it’s going well.”

The second half was a lot more open than the first. Is it about playing the game on your terms and not getting dragged in that kind of game if you want to keep winning?
“I think us having a good lead at half time didn’t help. The boys went into their shell a little bit and tried to defend the lead rather than extend it. Brighton needed to get points which led to them chucking the ball about a bit more. That led us into their gameplan and that’s not how we wanted to play. We like throwing the ball about but on our terms and in a structured way, but not free flowing end to end stuff. How we manage games going forward will be something we need to work on.”

Any frustrations on not securing the bonus point or just happy with the win?
“If you looked at the boys faces at the full-time whistle, they were disappointed. At the end of the day, it wasn’t through lack of effort. The boys pushed and pushed. Fair play to Brighton they defended it well. Few times illegally but that’s how the game goes these days. One referee can’t see everything and if they can get away with it then why would they bother stopping. We’d have loved five points, but a first win at home is something to be proud of.”

Just finally, it was a great crowd today. Having Frank Wise School here has been awesome, it was a great day on the pitch, and I expect it will be a great evening now as well?
“I certainly hope so. The crowd were great today, we could definitely hear them. The more people we can get down here, the better. With a win like that, just as a reward for their loyalty at turning out to support us is something we’d like to do a lot more as the season goes on. Been a good day for the club and now we can enjoy the evening, raise some money for a good cause and have a few beers as a team.”