The game started with Banbury attacking in to a very strong headwind, making kicking extremely difficult. Still Banbury got off to the perfect start. A couple quickly taken penalties got Banbury into the Salisbury 22. Another penalty saw Banbury kick for the corner. Ian Isham found his man at the lineout before gathering the ball at the back and crashing his way over from close range. Ed Phillips was off target from the side-line, but Banbury had an early 5-0 lead.

Banbury had worked themselves into another good position and were 5 metres out from the Salisbury try line. One Jack Briggs (12) tried to force the pass to the other Jack Briggs (14), but Daniel Luedicke expertly intercepted the pass and proceeded to sprint the length of the pitch to score under the posts. A gutting moment for Banbury. What so easily could have been a second try for Banbury turned into a score for Salisbury. Daniel Luedicke converted his own try to give Salisbury the lead, 5-7.

Banbury regained the lead after Nick Pratt crashed over from close range. Ed Phillips drew the man and Nick Pratt was running a lovely line before powering through the Salisbury defence. Ed Phillips pushed his kick wide, 10-7.

Joe Tully got Salisbury back in front after he found a hole in the Banbury line. He still had plenty to do but the fly-half went over out to the left after some poor Banbury defending. Daniel Luedike converted, 10-14.

The Bulls took the lead their play deserved just before the half time whistle. Tommy Gray back in the side after a couple weeks off showed what Banbury had missed with a nice break from deep and was stopped metres short of the line. A couple phases later Jack Briggs (12) spun out of his opposite numbers tackle to score out to the left. The conversion hung up in the wind and fell just short to leave the scores 15-14 at half time.

The Bulls had the wind in the second half, but it was the power of the forwards that got the early score. Ken Key did well to set up a rolling maul on the edge of the Salisbury 22 and the pack drove their way all the way up to the line for Jacob Mills to score in the corner. Ed Phillips couldn’t convert from the side-line, 20-14.

Banbury’s next score was a brilliant team try from deep. A Banbury scrum inside their own half was the base which Banbury used to start the move. Ed Berridge picked from the base of the scrum and timed his offload perfectly to Ed Phillips, Ed Phillips found Alex Gandy who sprinted his way down the right side-line and as the cover defence closed in, offloaded to Tommy Gray who touched down to the right of the posts. The wind wasn’t helping as another conversion went wide but Banbury had taken control of the game, 25-14.

Ian Isham picked up his second try with another try coming from a rolling maul. Banbury had a penalty and kicked for the corner. Ian Isham found his target and although Salisbury held briefly the pack wheeled it round before Ian Isham crashed over. Ed Phillips converted from the side-line to make it 32-14.

The Banbury pack showed great skill to score another try. In a near repeat of Jacob Mills’s try earlier in the game the Bulls set up a maul on the edge of the 22 before gathering great momentum and Ed Berridge was on hand to crash over. Ed Phillips added the extras, 39-14.
Salisbury got their third try and it was another intercept try. Richard Smart picked off a lose Banbury pass and sprinted his way under the posts. Daniel Luedike converted, 39-21.

Banbury finished with one more try of their own. It was Ed Berridge’s turn to intercept an opposition pass but Salisbury covered and stopped him short. Banbury reacted quickly though and a couple phases later Jack Briggs (14) went over and worked his way inside to score close to the posts. Ed Phillips converted to leave it 46-21 at the full-time whistle.

A big 5 points for the Bulls, 2 intercept tries could have made heads drop but the Bulls never looked like losing. Ed Berridge was Banbury’s Man of the Match. The number 8 is still new to the team but has been hugely impressive since joining. He carried well all game and showed some fantastic hands to create opportunities for others.

Speaking to Head Coach Matt Goode after the game:
46-21, after last weekend, was that the perfect response? “Definitely, I asked for a performance after last week and I think that’s what we did.” With the scores basically level at half time going against the wind were you happy with that going in at half time? “We could have managed the game a bit better in that first half. The wind was obviously a massive factor today. Going in a point up at half time we were confident we could push on in that second half.”

It’s been a tough couple weeks for the club with injuries and unavailability’s, how pleasing is it to see 3 full teams run out at home? “It’s amazing, we had 3 forwards on the bench today, but they came on and made big impacts. We’ve filled in positions in lots and lots of places recently. Looking around at all the players after the game I think 75-80% of them have come through the youth section which is incredible.”

You’re back in cup action next Friday against Witney. Is it an opportunity to bring in a few players or is it whoever you’ve got available? “We want to win that cup again this year. We’ll be putting out a team that we feel can beat Witney. There’s some boys that deserve a chance to play. Some boys will need a rest, and some will step up.”

Banbury Scorers:
Tries: Ian Isham (2) Nick Pratt, Jacko Briggs, Jacob Mills, Tommy Gray, Ed Berridge, Jack Briggs.
Conversions: Ed Phillips (3)