The Bulls got off to a good start, getting an early score. Jacob Mills made a good break from the halfway line sucking in the Beaconsfield covering defence. The Bulls got the ball wide and Tommy Gray danced his way out of a couple tackles before offloading to Ed Phillips who made it two tries from two games as he touched down near the posts. Ed Phillips converted his own try to make it 0-7 to Banbury.

Beaconsfield responded through the boot of Aled Lewis after Banbury were penalised for being off the feet at the breakdown, 3-7.
Banbury were looking dangerous and broke into the Beaconsfield 22, but the ball was knocked on and Beaconsfield countered brilliantly. Finding a miss match with backs running against forwards the home team exploited the situation perfectly before James Lambert touched down out to the left. Aled Lewis converted to make it 10-7.

Aled Lewis extended the lead with another penalty after Banbury were penalised for holding on at the breakdown. 13-7. Aled Lewis put Beaconsfield further in control after Banbury were penalised for a repeat offence. 16-7.

Dan Brady reduced the lead after a lovely move from the backs. Tommy Gray made the break before offloading to Dan Brady who stepped past the last man before scoring out to the left. Ed Phillips converted to reduce the gap to 16-14.

Tommy Gray saw yellow shortly before half time. Aled Jones continued his fine form with the boot to kick the resulting penalty to leave it 19-14 at half time.

These proved to be the final points for Beaconsfield though as the Bulls came out firing in the second half. Banbury won a scrum about ten metres into the Beaconsfield half which proved to be a great platform for the backs to attack their opposite numbers. Jack Briggs burst through the Beaconsfield line and as the covering defence closed in passed out wide to Joe Mills who sprinted his way over out to the right.
Ed Phillips dragged his conversion wide, but the scores were level 19-19.

Banbury took the lead with a try from deep. Kallum Dixey did brilliantly to turn the ball over at the breakdown and the Bulls countered from deep. Tommy Gray did well to keep the ball in play and Jimmy Manley picked and went from the base of the ruck. Quick offloads to Jack Briggs then again to Dan Kirwin released the pacey winger and even though he still had plenty to do he managed to dive his way over in the corner for his first Banbury try. Joe Mills had taken over the kicking duties and he nailed a tricky conversion from out wide. 19-26.

The Bulls were on top and dominated possession after the restart. Phase after phase followed with the Beaconsfield defence holding out brilliantly. Eventually with almost everyone on the pitch exhausted Banbury made the breakthrough. Pete Boulton picked the ball up from the base of a ruck and bullied his way through a couple tackles before spinning his way out of a tackle and over. Joe Mills added the extras to increase the lead to 19-33.

Banbury sealed the win with another Dan Brady try in extra time. The Bulls used a scrum as a good base again and eventually Sam Stoop played in Dan Brady to sneak his way over in the corner. The winger taking it to four tries in two games for the season. Joe Mills’ conversion went just wide as the referee blew the final whistle.

The Bulls weren’t performing their best in the first half, but Beaconsfield certainly brought it and played some lovely rugby. The second half was much improved though and the Bulls secured another crucial five points. Jimmy Manley secured man of the match for Banbury. He was everywhere throughout the game and deserved a try after some of his breaks.

Speaking to Matt Goode after the game:
You were down 19-14 at halftime but managed to turn in around in the second half. What do you think the difference was today? “I think the difference was the way we played, the way we know this league and how to win games. We were in their position a couple years ago and its hard. I gave the boys a stiff telling off at half time. I made a couple changes which could have been unpopular, changing scrum halves helped mix things up a bit. We were below par in the first half, we were second best in the ruck. We didn’t get out the starting blocks and that’s something we’ll be focusing on in training.”

There were a lot of similarities to the Marlow game from last season (28-28 draw) talked about this week and there were a lot of similarities throughout the game. How pleasing is it to see you get 5 points and not a draw this time? “It shows how far we’ve come on. The boys have another year under their belts and they’re all a little bit older and a little bit wiser. Last year who knows it might have been another draw, but they got it done in the second half.”

Who was your man of the match today? “My man of the match, to be fair he’s been man of the last two matches, is Jimmy Manley. He was
class, he didn’t stop working. He made some great runs, made some great tackles.”

Next week you’re finally back at home after four away games in a row. How good will it be to be back at home against Chippenham? “It will be great to be back home. The pitch will be ready, we’ll be running out our new kit and there will be a buzz about it. We know how Chippenham will play and we’ll be focusing on how we can try to beat them. To have as much support as possible would be amazing. If you’re not doing anything next Saturday get yourself up to Banbury, it’s free to get in so come be the 16th man for us, it could be all the difference.”

Banbury scorers:
Banbury Tries: Dan Brady (2) Ed Phillips, Joe Mills, Dan Kirwin and Pete Boulton.
Conversions: Ed Phillips (2) Joe Mills (2)