Coming into this weekend Marlow found themselves at the bottom of the table after 4 close losses. Banbury weren’t taking anything for granted though as Marlow convincingly won promotion last season.

Marlow quickly revealed they were a better side than previous results had shown. Winger Vasa Bai ran a nice line right through the Banbury defence before offloading to Jamie Maddern who bundled his way over under the posts. The try was easily converted and Marlow had an early 7-0 lead.

Banbury levelled the scores with a nice try from deep. Matt Goode made the initial burst, smashing his way through the Marlow defence before offloading to Freddie Cracknell who showed all his pace to outrun the covering defender and touching down to the left of the posts. Joe Mills added the extras to make it 7-7.

Banbury were awarded a penalty in front of the posts. Joe Mills took the penalty quickly catching the Marlow defence unprepared and the scrum-half darted his way over under the posts. He picked himself up to convert his own try to increase the lead to 7-14.

Nick Carvey kicked 2 penalties to close the gap to 13-14. Marlow had the momentum and they took the lead shortly before half-time. The Marlow winger broke down the left side-line and ran through the last defender before touching down in the corner. The conversion attempt was missed but Marlow had a 18-14 lead at halftime.

Banbury kicked off the 2nd half with a period of sustained pressure, pinning Marlow deep in their own 22. Banbury were awarded a penalty which Joe Mills took quickly again, and darted his way over from 5 metres out. A repeat of his try in the 1st half caught the Marlow defence slacking again. Joe Mills converted his try to give Banbury the lead 18-21.

Marlow took a quick penalty which had Banbury back peddling. Tony Lawless tried to get the ball wide for what probably would have been a Marlow try but instead Alex Gandy was there to intercept the pass for Banbury, who out sprinted the Marlow players and touched down wide to the right. Joe Mills added the extras to increase the lead to 18-28.

Marlow weren’t finished though. Some nice breaks from the backs had them deep in the Banbury 22. Marlow eventually scored, exploiting a 3 on 2 in the corner. Dan Brady took a nasty-looking neck injury trying to stop the last pass and after a long delay it was good to see him walk off with some assistance. Nick Carvey missed the conversion after the interruption but they were back within one score, 23-28.

With a couple minutes left Marlow were level. Nick Carvey made a nice run before offloading to Stuart Silvester who crashed over from short range just wide of the posts. Tony Lawless missed the crucial conversion but the scores were level with a minute to go, 28-28. Sam Stoop won a penalty for Banbury right at the end. Joe Mills pushed his long-range kick just wide though in what was the final play of the game.

3 points for both sides in the end was probably a fair result. Banbury and Marlow both playing some nice rugby in an end-to-end contest. Joe Mills was Banbury’s Man of the Match, 2 tries and all 4 conversions capped off a fine performance from the scrum-half.

Speaking to Matt Goode after the game on the draw: “I was very disappointed at the end of the game. A draw leaves a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth. We made a lot of changes today. We were 10 points clear and didn’t really finish the game. A draw is a little disappointing but 3 points is alright.”

On the changes and Marlow: “I think all the changes were a big point to the result but Marlow were a good side. They’re definitely not a bottom of the table side as you can see by the result and their performance.”

On Old Centralians next week: It’ll be a tough one next week but we’ve got a few boys coming back. I think we’ll be alright.”

Try scorers: Joe Mills (2) Freddie Cracknell, Alex Gandy.

Banbury Line-up:

15. Freddie Cracknell (Sponsored by: F M & P Consultancy)
14. Dan Brady
13. George Grieve
12. Matt Goode (Sponsored by: Hook Norton Crop Consultancy)
11. Alex Gandy
10. Sam Stoop (Sponsored by: H Colegrave & Son)
9. Joe Mills (Sponsored by: DTC International)
1. Ken Key
2. Joe Winpenny
3. Pete Boulton
4. Kallum Dixey
5. Matt Brock
6. Jacob Mills
7. Angus Johnson
8. Ian Isham (Captain) (Sponsored by: Fieldcraft)

Replacements:

16. Giles Saar (Sponsored by: Jamie Briggs Removals & Storage)
17. Niall Morrow
18. Tom Burman