Banbury travelled away to face a difficult fixture against a Berkswell & Balsall team that would be topping the league if it weren’t for their league points deductions. Having already faced them at home, Banbury were well aware of the test that they would have to overcome if they were to come away with a valuable win. With a number of changes made in both the pack and the backline, the Bulls senior squad were certainly getting invaluable experience against top level opposition as they looked to put into practice the work done in training.

On a perfect day for rugby Berkswell kicked off with the slope in their favour. Despite the slope being slight indeed it seemed to have a profound impact on the game with Banbury pinned back in their own half for most of the opening period. Berkswell played to an effective game plan that revolved around kicking for territory and then attacking from deep within the Bulls half through their strong running pack, and within 5 minutes they were knocking on the Banbury tryline. But time and again the Bulls defence held and some excellent lineout work by Matt Brock kept the home side out. Banbury’s few forays out of their own territory were too often spoiled by some poor handling and thus they were unable to relieve the pressure.

It was not until midway through the first half that this pressure finally told. Berkswell put together a fine array of quick ruck phases and despite Banbury tackles going in thick and fast, they struggled to contain the momentum of the attack. With the defence sucked in, Berkswell looked to ship the ball wide to the winger on an overlap. With 20 metres still to go it appeared that the covering defence would bundle the winger into touch, but somehow he managed to break through the would-be tacklers and go over to open the scoring. The conversion was short but the home side held the lead 5-0.

The half continued in much the same vein, with Berkswell having the lion’s share of both territory and possession and Banbury defending vigorously with the occasional foray into the opposition half. Indeed on one of these visits to Berkswell territory, Banbury were awarded a penalty which centre Mike Smith calmly struck through the posts to make the score 5-3. However, Berkswell continued their assault and when a 5 metre scrum was illegally collapsed as it headed towards the Bulls try line, the referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty try. With a simple conversion in front of the posts, Banbury went in at half time trailling by 12-3.

However, it was truly to be a game of two halves and with the slope in their favour, Banbury went looking to take the game to the home side. Time and again Banbury broke through the Berkswell defensive line only for the attacks to be snuffed out 10 metres short of the line. A splendid kick return by winger Adam Walsh saw him scythe through into the Berkswell 22. With supporting players on hand it seemed a score was inevitable, but the final pass was adjudged forward by the slimmest of margins and Banbury again came away with nothing.

With just 11 minutes left on the clock the Berkswell full-back was rather harshly yellow-carded for killing the ball at the breakdown and Banbury soon made this extra man count. Skipper Eddie Phillips kicked a penalty to touch into the Berkswell 22, where a loose throw was tidied up by second row James Burge, who provided scrum-half Phillips with quick ball. The backs then produced a simple yet sweeping attacking move that put winger Andrew Collett clear wide out on the left. The big winger needed no further invitation and crashed over in the corner. Smith was off target with the kick but Banbury were back in the game at 12-8.

Berkswell continued to use their kicking game to good effect through their scrum-half’s excellent kicking. When the home side pack stole a ball against the head at a Banbury scrum in midfield he was quick to see the Bulls backline out of position and put the ball into the Banbury 22. The speed of the home side’s wingers was always a threat and a try seemed on when he beat the covering defence to ball, grubbered it into the in-goal and dived on the loose ball. However the ref was unable to see whether he had grounded the ball before it went dead, and instead awarded a scrum 5 to Berkswell.

Determined to finish the game off, the Berkswell pack looked to repeat their score from the first half, which they duly did as the referee again awarded another penalty try. With the successful conversion the home side had stretched their lead to 19-8. As the clock ticked down, Banbury searched for the try that would get them the losing bonus point, whilst Berkswell looked for the try that would get them a try-scoring bonus point, but it was not to be for either side and the game ended 19-8.

Despite putting in a good performance, Banbury came away from the game with nothing to show for it. It is however up to the players now to tighten up their performance by the small margin that will get them victory. Banbury take on Droitwich in the league at Bodicote Park this coming Saturday, kick off 2:15pm, where there will also be a 2nd XV league fixture and a 3rd XV friendly.