A gallant performance from the Banbury Bulls wasn’t enough to secure them the spoils at Old Halesonians, going down by 26 points to 7 having to play 55 minutes with just 14 players on the pitch.

In contrast to the previous weeks slow start it was the Bulls who had the better of the opening 20 minutes of the game camping for long periods of time deep in opposition half but once again as has happened so many times this season they were unable to come away with any points that kind of territory and possession should produce.

With number 8 Simon Brand leading the way with some strong charges at the opposition the Bulls often found themselves on the front foot and with the opportunity to build pressure but all too often their good work came to nothing due to a high error rate, not helped by the adverse weather conditions that plagued both teams throughout the day.

A huge turning point in the game came on the twenty fifth minute when a neck injury to the Bulls loose head prop saw him carried from the field on a stretcher and to compound the Bulls problems was that at the same time replacement prop Chris Phillips who started the game in the back row was also injured and therefore the Bulls were unable to make a replacement due to the front row laws of the game and forced to play the remainder of the match with just 14 men on the pitch.

Soon after the resumption of the game a long range attack from the home side saw their fly half jink his way through several would be tackles and a run down the right hand side saw Old Halesonians register the first points of the game with a converted try.

Five minutes later and things got a lot worse for the Bulls as their leading forward Brand was yellow carded for an infringement at the breakdown and with a two man advantage the home side were presented with fantastic opportunity to increase their lead.

It took some time but eventually right on the stroke of half time they made the extra men count, albeit by way of a controversial decision by the referee to not penalise Old Halesonians for an infringement at the line out which subsequently lead to a forward drive over the line to score. The missed conversion signalled the end of the half with the home side leading by 12 points to 0.

The wet weather conditions continued to play havoc for both sides during the second half as time and again promising attacking moves broke down due to the slippery ball being knocked on or spilt out of the tackle.

It was the home side who dominated the second half with a significant territorial advantage and when close to the Bulls try line they reverted to the safe option of keeping the ball close to the forwards and rumbling it up the middle. This worked well for them as 15 minutes into the half they registered their third try of the game and with an excellent conversion attempt sailing between the posts they found themselves 19-0 up.

With the game slowly slipping away from the Bulls they really needed a change of luck and fortunately it came midway through the half. A knock on by the opposition was immediately kicked ahead by Bulls scrum half Eddie Phillips and he arrived at the ball first to kick it on a further two times and then won the race to the ball to touch it down to score under the posts. Fly half Mike Smith added the conversion to bring the Bulls back into the game at 19-7.

This triggered a purple patch for the Bulls who attacked deep inside Old Halesonians half for the next 10 minutes but a lack of cohesion at crucial moments saw them relinquish possession and allow the home side to clear their lines.

The final points of the game came inside the final 10 minutes with another concerted forward drive at the Bulls line resulting in another close range try. Again the extra two points were added to give the home side a 26 points to 7 victory.

Bulls coach Grant Holmes was left to contemplate what might have been had they been able to play the entire game with a full complement of players.

“Up until the moment we lost a player we were right in the hunt, we had slightly the better of the opening quarter but once again we came up short when pressure needed to be turned into points.”

“The conditions made it tough on both sides as handling errors continually hampered a lot of attacking play.”

“There were some big performances from several individuals but as a collective we were found wanting on too many occasions. I think this reflects our commitment to training were we should be able to work on our game plan and identify where everyone needs to get to from one phase to the other. However because we are currently struggling to get a full compliment of players to training it is difficult to ensure that everyone knows their role from breakdown to breakdown.”

“We tend to be able to attack for a certain length of time but too often we are relying on too few players to do the hard work and when we get the opposition to near breaking point we are unable to finish them off because the players we need in the right places are not there because they are literally doing someone else’s job.”

“With relegation looking the most likely scenario it is too easy for players to take the easy option and ignore training as they feel our fate is already sealed. But we must look at the bigger picture and focus on using the final seven games of the season to build some momentum with the summer and next season in mind.”

“I still believe we are capable of winning five of our last seven games but even if we achieve this it will probably we too little too late, but in terms of boosting team morale to get a few wins under our belt before the end of the season will only serve us well as we look further ahead.”

This Saturday the Bulls have the tough assignment of hosting the leagues second placed side Sutton Coldfield, kick off is 2:15pm followed by live coverage of the England versus France six nations clash in the club bar.