For the second week running the Banbury Bulls fell agonisingly short of claiming victory in their latest Midlands One West league fixture, this time going down to Worcester Wanderers by 20 points to 17.

Billed as a must win game as the gap between the bottom two in the league and the rest of the sides continues to grow the Bulls will rue a slow start to the game that saw them go 12 nil down after 20 minutes and although they clawed their way back into the game and eventually took the lead in the 71st minute a late try by the Wanderers was enough to take the spoils.

The up tempo style of the Wanderers took the Bulls by surprise as the visitors to Bodicote Park were quick to move the ball from the breakdown area and their knack of being able to off load in the tackle often saw them make huge in roads into the Bulls half of the field.

Wanderers had a very early scoring opportunity from a scrum just five metres from the Bulls try line and when their number 8 Chris Griffiths drove towards the line it looked for all money that he would score, however some last ditch defence from the Bulls saw them able to turn him on his back and prevent him from getting the ball down.

However they did not have to wait too much longer as with only 7 minutes on the clock they managed to turn all the early pressure into points with a try under the posts created by a change of angles in the midfield which opened up a half gap in the Bulls defence which they exploited to score. Centre Carl Buffery added the conversion for a 7 point lead.

Missed tackles and poor handling continued to plague the Bulls as they were unable to put continuity into their game and again with the opposition having the lions share of possession they made the Bulls pay for their mistakes with another try with just 20 minutes gone.

Several charges close to the breakdown by the forwards have the Wanderers backs a chance to attack on the front foot and after a strong run in the midfield they were able to ship the ball wide were superior numbers was enough for fullback Paul Burton to run in to score. The conversion went wide by at 12-0 things were not looking good for the home side.

The second 20 minutes of the half saw the Bulls slowly grind their way into the game and when they held on to the ball for longer periods of time they looked a very dangerous side and with the visitors on the back foot the Bulls converted this pressure into points with two successful penalties late in the half to fly half Mike Smith to reduce the Wanderers lead at the break to just 6 points.

The second half saw the Bull continue to improve their performance as they increased their tempo while it appeared the visitors were starting to tire and the Wanderers lead was cut to just 3 points by Smith who slotted his third penalty of the game just eight minutes into the half.

Smith had the chance to bring the sides level three minutes later but his long range attempt was off target.

As the game approached the 60 minute mark the visitors put together their best attacking move of the half which threatened to open the Bulls up, however some last ditched tackling held them out. A very kickable penalty for the Wanderers was turned down and instead they put the ball in the corner for an attempt and a catch and drive over the line. Things looked bad for the Bulls as they were pushed to within two metres of their line but somehow the ball came back on their side and they were able to clear their lines.

Another foray into the Bulls half again saw a penalty given away and this time the visitors decided to go for goal and with Buffery on target they took their lead back out to six points.

This lasted just three minute as an infringement at the other end of the field allowed Smith to kick his fourth penalty of the game and with just under 20 minutes left the game was evenly poised.

As the game entered the last 10 minutes it appeared that for either team to take the initiative it would take a piece of individual brilliance and it appeared to come from Bulls fullback Dave Taylor, who attacked from 40 metres out, initially running across field to get on the outside of the approaching defence and as he straightened up he drew the last line of defence before off loading to hooker Andy Ell who was waiting in the wings to score. Smith’s conversion attempt from the touch line hit the upright but the Bulls, with 9 minutes to go had finally struck the front at 17 points to 15.

Unfortunately their lead only lasted 4 minutes as an error inside their own half gifted the Wanderers possession and after several phases of play they moved the ball wide to the left where they had superior numbers, however the choice to go on his own by centre Buffery almost cost them as he was taken short of the line however he managed to pass out of the tackle to wing Chris Jenkinson who crashed over in the corner.

The final five minutes were frenetic as the Bulls made most of the running as they went in search of snatching the game away again but the visitors managed to hold on until the final whistle.

Bulls coach Grant Holmes was left frustrated after his side’s latest defeat.

“You have to play the game for the full 80 minutes and at the moment we have not been able to achieve this. The first 20 minutes of the game were probably the worst we have played for some time. There was a lack of passion and a lack of organisation as we fumbled our way through the first quarter of the game.”

“We managed to work our way into the game but at the end of the day that first 20 minutes is what cost us, not the last 6 minutes in which we surrendered the lead.”

“To be blunt I put our poor start to the down to the player’s lack of commitment to put in the hard work at training. We are a Midlands One team which makes it imperative to train twice a week if we want to have any hope of clawing our way up the table to safety. But this week we had just 12 first team players at training which meant we were unable to put a proper team run together. This is not good enough and the players really need to step up and make the sort of commitment that is required to survive and be competitive in this league.

“People point to the fact that we have in the region of 12 players out injured at the moment, however although this does not help our cause we are still able to put out a quality side which I believe can make a statement in this league but we won’t without the commitment that needs to go with it.”

“It is very frustrating not only for me, but I am sure for our loyal supporters as they know just as well as I do how good this side could be and I would love for them to reach their full potential as a side, but to do that some of our attitudes towards training need to change.”

“This week we have another key fixture with a short trip to Stratford Upon Avon and I am confident that two solid training sessions this week will set us up nicely to go there with claim a much needed victory.”