Although Banbury secured a dramatic victory last week, Head Coach, Matt Goode, was disappointed overall with the performance and after some tough training sessions this week called on his boys to step up their game this weekend. An already tough task was made harder when Duncan Leese and Pete Boulton dropped out the team Saturday morning. Duncan stuck in an airport with a delayed flight and Pete with a sickness bug.

Banbury started well but couldn’t turn any territory in to points and in fact it was Marlborough who scored first. A penalty saw Marlborough deep into Banbury’s 22 and despite solid defending eventually the pressure told. Epeli Kotobalavu crossing from close range. The conversion went wide to leave it 0-5.

Banbury responded well, Ed Phillips kicking a penalty to reduce the lead after Marlborough were penalised for offside. Banbury 3 Marlborough 5. Matthew Powell made a good break and only a deliberate knock on from Semisi Rasivo stopped Banbury scoring. Semisi saw yellow for the knock on and disappointingly Marlborough stole the resulting lineout, before clearing their lines.

Banbury eventually made the extra man count. Sam Stoop took a quick penalty and played in Callum Horne who look like he’d scored but no grounding was clear. Ian Isham regathered at the base and touched the ball down for his first score of the afternoon. Ed Phillips converted to give Banbury a 10-5 lead.

Banbury extended their lead before half time, Banbury had another 5-metre lineout and this time there would be no mistakes. Ian Isham gathered at the back of the rolling maul before adding his second try of the afternoon. A sequence of play we’ve seen a few times this season. Ed Phillips’s conversion fell short. 15-5.

Marlborough had a couple quick penalties which saw them deep into the Banbury 22 and it wasn’t long before they scored. Epeli Kotobalavu gathering at the base of a rolling maul before driving over for his second try. The conversion was off target and despite a couple good chances for Banbury the scores remained the same until halftime, 15-10.

Marlborough narrowed the lead early in the second half when Banbury were penalised for offside. Jake Williams kicking the points. 15-13.
Banbury responded in the best possible fashion. Matt Goode put in a monster shot on his opposite number forcing a knock on. Sam Stoop kicked the loose ball through and Tom Burman reacted quickest to score under the posts. Ed Phillips converted to give Banbury a bit of breathing space. 22-13.

Now the big turning point. Marlborough heavily pushing to get back into the game were deep in to Banbury territory. Ed Phillips was penalised for coming in at the side and because the infringement was in the red zone the scrum half was shown a yellow and 10 minutes in the sin bin. The situation got even tougher when Sam Stoop limped off and suddenly Banbury were down a 9 and a 10.

What followed was 3 quick tries for Marlborough as they brilliantly exploited the extra man. Switching the ball from side-line to side-line, stretching the Banbury defenders further and further. First Ben Fulton gathered a cross field kick and touched down out to the left. Conversion missed. 22-18.

No matter what Banbury tried they couldn’t stop the Marlborough momentum. There were some brilliant tackles and brilliant turnovers, but Marlborough were relentless. Amori Nailago finding his way through a gap in the Banbury line to score under the posts. Jake Williams converted, 22-25.

Marlborough were soon back at the Banbury line and again despite some brilliant efforts in defence, Marlborough found the breakthrough, Epeli Kotobalavu sneaking his way over for his hat-trick. Jake Williams converting. 22-32.

With Banbury back up to a full 15 they went searching for a way back into the game but once the clock had ticked passed 80 minutes, they could only hope for a couple of bonus points. Ed Berridge made a brilliant break off the base of a scrum before working his way through the Marlborough defence to score out to the right. Ed Phillips converted to make it 29-32 at the full-time whistle.

A brilliant effort from Banbury but in the end those 10 minutes where Marlborough exploited the extra man proved crucial. A much-improved performance but not the result Banbury hoped for. The Bulls will feel they left a few points out there but with performances like that they’ll be right near the business end come the end of the season. Finally, a massive thank you to all the supporters who came down Saturday, the support was incredible and one of, if not the loudest of the season so far.

Speaking to Head Coach Matt Goode after the game:

29-32, there was plenty of heart, plenty of desire but sadly not the result you wanted today.
“I’m gutted, gutted for the boys. I asked for the heart and the want that we didn’t have last week. We brought that today, but it wasn’t enough. I think our skill level and decision making in the final third just wasn’t quite there today. We were missing some crucial players who had some crucial skills in key areas.”

They scored 3 tries when you were down to 14, was that the big turning point? “Absolutely, to lose your 9 and your 10 when Marlborough are playing great rugby is less than ideal. Fair play to Marlborough they played well, saw where we were short and exploited it.”

The late try secured 2 bonus points any solace in that or gutted at the defeat? “It’s always good to get bonus points. It showed the desire and the fight at the end. You can’t coach those mental attitudes. We’ve just got to make sure we train hard and iron out a few mistakes.”

Big game against the league leaders next weekend. They’re undefeated in the league but if you play like today think you can cause an upset? “Absolutely, we’ll be trying to get as many points as possible. Bit of luck and a few things go our way there’s no reason we can’t get a result. We’ll work hard this week and be ready Saturday.”

Banbury Scorers: Ian Isham (2) Tom Burman, Ed Berridge
Conversions: Ed Phillips (3)
Penalties: Ed Phillips (1)