A disappointing loss by a Banbury side that looked second-best in most departments to the visiting Berkswell and Balsall was only partly redeemed by a last-minute penalty goal that earned a losing bonus point.

The match had started well, with Banbury fielding a relatively stable side with only 3 changes to that starting team which had won the previous week. Front-row forward Rory Dymond took the number 2 shirt on his return from watching the World Cup in New Zealand and Mike Smith and Andrew Joubert slotted into the centres and wing respectively.

And the game started evenly as the two sides sized each other up. The Bulls opened the scoring through a Mike Smith penalty in front of the posts but the visitors responded well and levelled the score with a well-struck penalty of their own. Some good work by the Bulls backline saw them engineer some space on the halfway line for Joubert. The winger then produced a mazy, powerful run which saw him best three would-be tacklers before dotting down for the first try of the game.

This was to be the highlight of the half for Banbury as poor option taking by the home side was pounced upon by Berkswell. Their vocal travelling support were able to cheer two first half tries as Berkswell went in at half-time leading by 13-8.

Things were to get even worse for the Bulls in the second half as they struggled to gain decent field position. The strong running Berkswell back row were assisted by their number 12 who led the visitor's defensive line well, and Banbury attacking moves broke down and too often turned over ball. Banbury were to fall further behind to another converted try after a scrum close the line was turned in-field allowing the Berkswell winger to sneak through a gap to score.

Banbury now found themselves 20-8 behind and needed to produce something special to snatch the game back. Joubert landed a monster penalty goal from just inside the Berkswell half to bring them back to 20-11, but despite a number of half breaks the Bulls lacked support runners to open up the visitor's defence.

It was with the last kick of the match that Joubert gained the losing bonus point for Banbury to finish the game at 20-14 in what was a disappointing performance by the home side.

Banbury take a break from league action this coming week as they travel to Stockwood Park to play their first cup fixture of the season.