Stratford started the game brightly and charged into an early 0-5 lead. Banbury were penalised for offside and Stratford kicked for the corner. Ben Cole gathered at the back of the rolling maul before touching down over the line. Nath Geekie was off target with the conversion from out wide to the left.

Freddie Cracknell went down off the ball with a knee injury bringing Tommy Gray on after only 5 minutes. Tommy Gray didn’t have long to warm-up before Stratford were in again. James Southall chipped over the top which Dan Whitby gathered well before breaking a tackle and out sprinting a limping Jimmy Manley who also went off injured with a dead leg. Nath Geekie was off target with the conversion, but Stratford had flown into an early 0-10 lead.

Going behind so early seemed to wake Banbury up a bit and they quickly got themselves on the scoreboard. Sam Stoop got the ball wide to Joe Mills who drew the last man before shipping the ball on to Tommy Gray who touched down in the corner. Ed Phillips couldn’t convert from the side-line, but Banbury were back in the game, 5-10.

Tommy Gray added his second try of the game with an expert finish in the corner. Tommy Gray broke down the left, passed the ball on to Joe Winpenny who drew two defenders before passing the ball back to Tommy Gray who was looping around the corner. Seeing the side-line approaching the full-back dived, keeping his body off the ground before sneaking the ball down in the corner with 90% of his body off the pitch. Ed Phillips nailed a tricky conversion from the side-line to give Banbury their first lead of the game 12-10.

Giles Saar extended the lead with one of the solo tries of the season. The flanker picked up a loose ball before running like a man possessed through the Stratford defence, breaking four tackles before running over the full-back as he went over the line just to the left of the posts. Ed Phillips converted to make it 19-10.

Banbury had a good period and should have extended their lead but blew a couple opportunities close to the line. Stratford punished the missed chances from Banbury and scored with a great try of their own. A couple lovely offloads got Stratford deep into the Banbury 22 before recycling quickly and get the ball wide to score out to the left. Dan Whitby being the man to touch the ball down for his second try. Nath Geekie converted to make it 19-17.

Stratford had all the momentum at the end of the first half and nearly scored another try if they hadn’t knocked on 5 metres out. Banbury put the ball out to get in 19-17 up at half time.

Banbury came out in the second half much improved and extended their lead with another try in the corner. Ed Phillips went down the blind side. Passed the ball on to Chris Phillips who drew the last man before passing the ball on to Dan Brady who dived over in the corner. Ed Phillips was off target with the conversion to leave it 24-17. Ed Phillips added a penalty to take make it a two score lead at 27-17 after Stratford were punished for hands in the ruck.

Jack Briggs scored another for Banbury to continue their fine start to the second half. Sam Stoop made a break down the left before offloading to the big inside centre who smashed his way through a couple tackles and stretching out for another score. Ed Phillips kicked a tricky conversion to give Banbury some breathing room at 34-17.

Banbury won a scrum 5 metres out from the Stratford try-line after Stratford knocked on and looked like they were about to score another try out to the right. Ed Phillips might have backed himself to score but passed the ball on to Joe Mills who looked surprised to see the pass and knocked on from close range. Charlie Powell picked up the loose ball, broke one tackle before sprinting the length of the pitch to score out to the left. A real momentum shifter where Banbury looked like they were going to seal the win at one end, finished with Stratford getting back into the game with a try of their own. Nath Geekie converted to make it 34-24.

Clearly lifted by the previous try Stratford were at it again. The Stratford backs threw a lovely set of passes to play in Nath Geekie down the side-line who then raced away to score in the corner. Nath Geekie was off target with the conversion, but Stratford were right back in the game at 34-29.

This game felt a bit like a boxing match with the two teams trading punches and it was Banbury who delivered the final blow before the final whistle. Jack Briggs found Tommy Gray who spotted a tiny gap in the Stratford line and burst his way straight through it. He out sprinted the Stratford defenders before drawing the last man and playing in Joe Mills who gathered and touched the ball down out to the left. Ed Phillips kicked another high-pressure conversion to seal the victory for Banbury 41-29.

It was always going to be tricky to follow the cup final after such a high, but Banbury will have felt disappointed in their performance despite the victory. It was certainly an entertaining game for the neutrals and the Bulls will be delighted to pick up another 5 points. Giles Saar was Banbury’s Man of the Match. The flanker scored a wonderful try but his performance over the 80 minutes was brilliant. He smashed players in defence and he carried like a man possessed.

Speaking to coach James Kerr after the game: “We came here to get the bonus point win and we’ve managed to do that. That’s a big achievement and not many teams have done that here this year. That’s the key thing from today. I think we played badly in parts, played lazily in defence at times. Not to do Stratford a disservice but we knew we weren’t up to our usual standard today. We need to make sure if we’re serious about being in contention for that playoff spot we make improvements for Wednesday and then Saturday.”

Was it going to be tricky after the high of the cup final last week? “It was bound to have an effect. I think the group are weathered enough that they’ve been in those circumstances before. I know the squad came here today and wanted to play better than they did. It’s still a great achievement, great game of rugby and great for the spectators but we’ve got things to work on before Wednesday.”

The fixtures are coming thick and fast, is it a bonus to get straight into the next game and not dwell on today? “Yeah it is, we’ll move on. We’ll learn from today and we’ll make the improvements in the training sessions and be ready for Wednesday and we want another 5 points at home.”

Some thoughts on Giles Saar’s man of the match performance: “I think he was the standout player for many factors. He carried fantastically today, as well as anyone in the team. Defensively he was very strong. He didn’t take his foot off the gas at any point in the game. He led in attack and defence today.”

Banbury Try Scorers: Tommy Gray (2) Giles Saar, Dan Brady, Jack Briggs, Joe Mills

Banbury Line-up:

15. Joe Mills (Sponsored by: DTC International)
14. Freddie Cracknell (Sponsored by: F M & P Consultancy)
13. Jimmy Manley (Sponsored by: Godiva Insurance)
12. Jack Briggs
11. Dan Brady
10. Sam Stoop (Sponsored by: H Colegrave & Son)
9. Eddie Phillips (Sponsored by: P Montanaro – ITSM Consultancy)

1. Joe Winpenny
2. Ian Isham (Captain) (Sponsored by: Fieldcraft)
3. Ken Key (Sponsored by: Lockwoods Ski and Outdoor)
4. Kallum Dixey
5. Angus Johnson
6. Giles Saar (Sponsored by: Jamie Briggs Removals & Storage)
7. Matthew Powell
8. Chris Phillips (Sponsored by: Lorne Alway)

Replacements:

16. Nick Pratt
17. Sam Carr-Archer
18. Tommy Gray (Sponsored by: Edd Frost & Daughters)