The game kicked off in horrible conditions which only got worse as the game went on. Windy, very wet and very cold! Beaconsfield started brightly but it was Banbury who opened the scoring. Ed Phillips played Tommy Gray in down the blind side and the fullback broke down the side-line before chipping the ball over his opposite number and scoring out to the left. Ed Phillips converted to give Banbury an early lead, 7-0.

Beaconsfield got their first points of the afternoon after Banbury were penalised for not wrapping the arms in a tackle. Aled Lewis kicked the easy penalty to make it 7-3.

Banbury extended the lead when top try scorer Ian Isham scored from another rolling maul. Banbury won a penalty, which they kicked into the corner. Ian Isham found his target from the resulting lineout before gathering the ball at the back of the rolling maul and driving over from close range. The conversion attempt went wide, 12-3.

The Banbury pack were back at it again shortly after. A rolling maul was held up, but from the resulting 5 metre scrum the Bulls managed to push Beaconsfield back before Ed Berridge scored at the back of the scrum. Ed Phillips was off target with the conversion attempt in the tricky conditions, 17-3.

Pete Boulton was back in the Banbury line-up after a number of weeks out and he showed what Banbury had missed with one of his spectacular rampaging runs to score at the beginning of the second half. Finding himself 10 metres out the big prop picked from the base of the ruck, broke multiple tackles before crashing over under the posts. Ed Phillips converted, 24-3.

Beaconsfield narrowed the lead when Aled Lewis scored in rather bizarre circumstances. What looked like a clear knock on from Beaconsfield wasn’t given and Aled Lewis reacted quickest to run in under the posts as Banbury waited for a whistle that wasn’t coming. Aled Lewis converted his own try, 24-10.

Jacob Mills added another try for Banbury when he went over from close range. Nick Pratt was stopped narrowly short and as the Beaconsfield players tried to get back in defence, they failed to cover the ruck and Jacob Mills had the easy job of stepping through the gap before diving over out to the right. Ed Phillips converted, 31-10.

Ed Berridge got his second try of the afternoon when Banbury won a scrum against the head. Beaconsfield were 5 metres from their own line when the ball popped out and Ed Berridge scooped the ball off the floor to score under the posts. Ed Phillips converted, 38-10.

The Bulls extended the lead with one of the team tries of the season. Sam Stoop and Matt Goode exchanged quick passes before slipping in Joe Mills who burst through the Beaconsfield line before expertly offloading to Duncan Leese who sprinted his way over under the posts. A lovely move right off the training ground. Ed Phillips converted, 45-10.

Banbury had time for one more score before the final whistle. Duncan Leese made a good break but was stopped short. One phase later Tommy Gray offloaded to Matt Goode who barged his way over from close range. Ed Phillips conversion from the side-line was off target but the Bulls had secured a big win, 50-10 as the referee blew for fulltime.

A great performance from the Bulls. The conditions were horrible, but the Bulls adapted very well. The pack controlled the ball brilliantly and the backs showed some great skills. Duncan Leese was selected as Banbury’s man of the match. He scored a great try, but it was his work rate for the full 80 minutes that stood out.

Speaking to Banbury Bulls Head Coach, Matt Goode, after the game:
50 points to 10, horrendous conditions out there but was the perfect way to end the year?
“Definitely, scoring 50 points against a mid-table side who play some good rugby is great. We’ve targeted 5 points from these last few games to end the year and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”

Tough to play your patterns today considering the conditions but you adjusted very well a lot of rolling mauls. Did you train for conditions like that? “I think the way we train, the way we play, we’ve got lots of ways we can play. We can adapt to nearly any situation. Today wasn’t a day for flowing rugby but we know when we play our patterns, we’ll find gaps and we’ll break teams down.”

You’ve got a couple weeks off now before a couple big games, away at Chippenham and then Marlborough at home. Is it good to have a bit of a break, help you get ready for those games? “It’s nice to have a bit of a break, spend some time with friends and family. We’ll be looking at how we can beat Chippenham. We beat them quite convincingly here (at home) but they’ll be a totally different team back at their place.”

Couple results went your way today, that sees you move up a couple positions in the table, are you going for that second position? “I think that’s where we should be. Obviously with the injuries at the beginning of the season we lost a lot of momentum, we got some boys back today, we were able to rest a couple others, I think we’ll be back to our best soon, getting some good wins and enjoying what we do out on the pitch.”

Banbury Scorers:
Tries: Ed Berridge (2) Tommy Gray, Ian Isham, Pete Boulton, Jacob Mills, Duncan Leese, Matt Goode.
Conversions: Ed Phillips (5)