The Bulls came out to overcast and windy, but dry conditions at Haslams Lane off the back of a brave performance last time out against the league leaders. With an ever-increasing injury list, the Bulls went into battle in the penultimate match of the season.

It was the hosts who struck first. With a well-worked passage of play from the Derby backs they made the most of space to touch down under the posts. The try was converted [7-0]. The Bulls held their own in the following ten minutes and found a break from the boot of Oscar Triggs. After Derby were penalised for not rolling away, Triggs secured three points from the tee [7-3]. Derby were in trouble again moments later for a deliberate knock on, stopping a promising attack from the Bulls. The player went to the bin and Derby were down to fourteen players. A few minutes later Banbury had their first try of the afternoon, albeit a penalty try it was seven points on the board for the Bulls. After a progressing rolling maul was dragged down, the referee moved over to the underside of the posts and brandished another yellow card taking Derby down to thirteen players on the field [7-10]. Despite the Bulls’ numerical advantage, Derby finished off a slick chip over the top which was dived on in-goal under the posts. The try was converted [14-10]. The Bulls again managed the following ten minutes well, closing any attack Derby threw at them, but entering the final ten minutes of the half Derby struck again. With the Derby backs looking dangerous a long slung ball was shipped out wide right and gathered by the right winger who snuck in over in the corner. The conversion was successful with some help from the crossbar [21-10]. Derby followed up their try with a successful penalty due to the Bull being penalised for going in at the side [24-10]. Affairs went from bad to worse in the final five minutes of the half with Ed Phillips, Matt Dandy and Will Thurlow all going off injured in the first half in what has been an injury-cursed season.

At the close of the half the Bulls were scrappy but performed well restricting the visitors to the bare minimum barring moments of well worked play from the hosts. Effective red zone play was Derby’s strength in the first period. Consistency was few and far between with injuries playing a huge part in the match. The next score in the match will be crucial in getting a footing in the second period. Banbury were with the wind, and with a lot of heart in it the second half was all to play for.

Half Time - Derby 24-10 Banbury

The half started with the Bulls striking first. From an excellent run from Dan Hale, he stepped two or three players before drawing the last man and offloaded to Charlie Cranley who touched down for the Bulls. The try was converted [24-17]. Moments later, Derby struck back with their backs taking a prominent role again having performed well all afternoon. They managed to string a good phase of play which found their winger out wide who dotted down in the corner. The conversion was unsuccessful [29-17]. Heading into the final quarter of the match Derby touched down for their final try of the afternoon with their forwards peeling off a rolling maul to score just left of the posts. The conversion was unsuccessful [34-17]. The Bulls were to lose two more players to injury in Will McCubbin and Dom Austin, taking the total for the afternoon to five injuries. Ed Phillips however returned to the field with the Bulls finishing with fourteen men for the remainder of the match. Despite the injuries, Matt Rabiasz touched down for the Bulls in their final try of the afternoon. From the rolling maul, Rabiasz popped up at the back to score for Banbury. The conversion was missed [34-22].

On the final whistle, Derby came away with the win. It was a much better second half for the Bulls with clear fight, desire and heart on display for all to see. With a weekend off next week, the Bulls will host Bridgnorth in the final game of the season in Regional 1 Midlands on 6th April.

Full Time - Derby 34-22 Banbury

Derby
Starting XV
15 McGrath Van Wyk; 14 Cameron Finlay; 13 Ethan Pearson; 12 Ben Wilcox; 11 William Town; 10 Joshua Bingham; 9 Joseph Acton;
1 Simon Moon; 2 Jack Bates; 3 Jeremiah Oldfield; 4 Joshua Roberts; 5 Charlie Barker; 6 Samuel Pittman; 7 Rhondell Stabana; 8 Sam Tebbs;

Replacements
16 Jack Partington; 17 Nathaniel Bevan-Brown; 18 Ryan Cokayne;

Banbury
Starting XV
15 Joe Mills; 14 Quinten Blythe; 13 Dan Hale; 12 Dan Tooth; 11 Charlie Cranley; 10 Oscar Triggs; 9 Ed Phillips;
1 Matt Rabiasz; 2 Ethan Gudge; 3 James Leonardi; 4 Will Thurlow; 5 Will McCubbin; 6 George Ding; 7 Tom Macdonald; 8 Matt Dandy;

Replacements
16 Soane Tonga'uiha; 17 Dom Austin; 18 Dan Kirwin;