Bodicote Park - Saturday 30th January 2016

Match report by Sam Stoop (you'll be able to tell...)

At first glance one could be forgiven to think the 105-8 is a more familiar score line seen during the summer months down at Banbury CC in a 20/20 bash. However, a look at the Banbury Bulls form and outstanding squad makes it very definitely a rugby score. It was the first time this season that the Bulls played hard, fast, aggressive rugby for 80 minutes. They were ruthless; they dominated the breakdown and set piece and showed the ever growing gap between the top and bottom of the league.

It didn’t take long for Banbury to score the first points of the game. The Droitwich fly half clearly miscalculated the howling wind kicking the ball dead. The subsequent scrum in the middle of the park allowed the Bulls to call a blindside move which ended in Joe Mills cantering in untouched. The conversion was missed by Ed Phillips who was suffering from a dreadful bout of ‘Man Flu’.

Minutes later the second try of the game was scored. Some excellent offloading and direct running from the forwards again allowed the Banbury backline to pick holes in a very dubious defence and in typical fashion Ed Phillips popped up at the right time to take the last pass to score under the posts. Ed always takes more time over conversions from his own tries and this time he made sure the two points were added. 12-0 after 4 minutes.

At this point Ed felt he had done enough and a combination of the ‘Man Flu’ and preparation for the visit of his ‘baby girl’ meant Ed had to take an early shower. However, in true captain’s style it was great to have him supporting the lads for the full 80 minutes from the dug out!!!!!!!!!!

A lack of discipline from Sam Stoop (pictured) or was it Sean Bannister allowed Droitwich 3 points. In weeks gone by the Bulls would have taken their foot off the pedal and let a little bit of white line fever set in but not today. The game plan was executed and orchestrated masterfully by Sam Stoop time after time. Droitwich could not cope with the aggressive lines of running from the forwards and the class from the backline.

Within 15 minutes the Bulls had got the bonus point with tries from Jimmy Manley and Jed Boyle. Banbury’s only blip in the game came in the next five minutes when we sat back and allowed Droitwich some ball. Although the defence was strong Droitwich did cross the white wash from a well worked driving maul. A few stern words under the posts were needed to keep every focused and on task and then it was back to business as usual.

The Bulls ran in six more tries before half time from Josh Deegan who had now moved to scrum half in Phillips’ absence, Adam Walsh, Matt Goode, Jimmy Manley and Sean Bannister x2. Joe Mills converting eight making the score 48-8. It was a powerful first half from the Bulls and the victory was at this point assured. However, it was made clear by JK that he wanted us to continue with our patterns of play and change nothing. With tougher games on the horizon it was vital to go through the phases and earn the right to go wide. A heartfelt apology from Matt Goode for his unnecessary verbal outburst during the first half lifted the squad and the 100 point barrier was the goal.

The Bulls started the second half as they finished the first half and a deflated Droitwich team didn’t know which way to turn. When they defended around the fringes the Bulls threw the ball wide and when they kept players out the Bulls played direct rugby through the middle. Tries from Sam Stoop, Josh Deegan, Jimmy Manley and Adam Walsh kept the scoreboard ticking over.

Then came the moment of the game. Training ground moves are great but doing it on a Thursday night against air is one thing and being able to execute it on match day is another. Truth be told we have been unable to execute it against air so when it was called everyone waited with trepid anticipation. Phase one…..a good lineout with ball of the top – tick, phase two……a hard direct line from the forwards and a quick ruck – tick, phase three……another hard line from the forwards – tick, phase four (and this is where is usually goes wrong as Matt Goode never passes)……a rewind with the backline changing positions and picking off the right runner to score – tick. WELL it worked and the move was finished off with an exquisite miss two from Sam Stoop who found Adam Walsh out wide crossing for his third try of the day. There was pandemonium from the players, supporters and coaching coaching staff with JK was running on the pitch unable to contain his excitement.

With time ticking by and the 100 point marker was getting closer the Bulls knuckled down again and focused on the job in hand. More tries from Sam Stoop, Josh Deegan, Matt Goode and Jimmy Manley along with a number of conversions from Joe Mills meant that milestone was reached.

The Bulls had put 100 points on Droitwich in a very clinical display of rugby. The forwards were yet again outstanding and even though Sean Bannister gave away his usual number of obscene penalties he can on this occasion be forgiven. The pack worked tirelessly for 80 minutes and made sure the ball was clean and quick for the backs. The backline fizzed and looked exceptionally dangerous whenever they had the ball. Jimmy Manley had strong game at outside centre as he also scored three tries over the course of the afternoon and JK has found his new niche in the game bringing on the kicking tee.

It would be remiss of me at this point not to mention Droitwich. They never gave up and at times made it tough for the Bulls. We would like to wish them luck for the rest of the season.