Photos by Simon Grieve

Callum Horne nearly got Banbury off to the perfect start, but Trowbridge defended well, and he was held up over the line. The Bulls weren’t stopped for long though and from the resulting scrum the backs switched the ball from one touchline to the other before Dan Kirwin crossed in the corner. Duncan Leese was off target with the conversion, 5-0.

Joe Mills scored a try from deep to extend the lead. Mills kicked the ball out of his own 22 and a mix up in the defence allowed the ball to bounce. In the scramble to secure the ball Mills snatched away possession and ran in untouched under the posts. Leese converted, 12-0.

Lee Fairclough broke through the Banbury line before offloading to Wade Loftus who sprinted his way over in the corner for Trowbridge’s first points of the afternoon. Tom Weaver was off target with the conversion, 12-5.

Banbury’s third try might be the try of the season so far. Banbury overturned the ball in their own 22 and Tommy Gray showed incredible skill and speed to cut his way through the Trowbridge defence before outsprinting the covering defence to score in the corner. Breaking multiple tackles on the way. The conversion went wide, 17-5.

Tommy Gray’s try was individual brilliance but Banbury’s next score was team brilliance. Justin Parker chipped and chased from his own 22 before shipping the ball on to Duncan Leese, Leese found Kirwin, Kirwin found Jacob Mills and he got the ball to Jack Briggs who went over to the right of the posts. A brilliant length of the pitch try. Ed Phillip’s conversion attempt came off the post, 22-5.

Pete Boulton got Banbury off to the perfect start in the second half. The ball was tipped in the air from a lineout and Pete Boulton reacted quickest to grab the ball before driving his way through the Trowbridge pack to score in the clubhouse corner. Ed Phillips converted from the touchline, 29-5.

Duncan Leese extended the lead with another score. Great work from Jack Briggs started the move before drawing the last man and passing to Leese on his inside shoulder. Ed Phillips converted, 36-5.

Good breaks from Ian Isham and Duncan Leese had the Trowbridge defence back peddling which Callum Horne took full advantage of to cut his way through before scoring to the right of the posts. Ed Phillips converted, 43-5.

Banbury added another score almost immediately from the restart, Jacob Mills stole a lineout and Nick Pratt gathered, smashed through the opposition defence before sprinting his way over from the edge of the 22. The conversion went wide, 48-5.

Trowbridge got their second try with a nice try from deep. Wade Loftus broke down the left wing before offloading to Lee Fairclough who was running a lovely support line before he crossed out to the left. Tom Weaver converted, 48-12.

In a near repeat of Dan Kirwin’s first try, he doubled his tally. Banbury had a 5m scrum in front of the clubhouse and the backs switched the ball quickly from one flank to the other as Kirwin dived over. Ed Phillips converted, 55-12.

Banbury had time for one final score in added time, Duncan Leese broke the Trowbridge line and Jack Briggs was on his inside shoulder this time to collect the pass before touching down under the posts. Ed Phillips converted to make it 62-12 at the full-time whistle.

A brilliant performance from Banbury. The Bulls have really found top form in the past couple weeks. Justin Parker was selected as Banbury’s man of the match. The pacey scrum half was a constant threat to the Trowbridge defence. He also covered at 7 for near half the game and performed exceptionally. Good luck to Trowbridge for the remainder of the season. One more win from their final two games will see them stay up. 2nd place Old Centralians still edge Banbury by 4 points but with tricky fixtures at Salisbury and Royal Wootton Bassett, Banbury could still sneak their way into second place if results go their way.

Speaking to Head Coach, Matt Goode, after the game:

You’ve got to be happy with that performance against a strong Trowbridge side? “I thought we were fantastic. Trowbridge are a good side, so to score 62 points against them is brilliant. We stuck to our game plan, we played our patterns and scored some fantastic tries.”

Speaking of fantastic tries, how good was Tommy Gray’s try and the team try immediately after? “They were both great, we know Tommy is dangerous from deep but that try was pretty special. Obviously, I’m delighted with the team try, the boys are playing with confidence and we’ve been working hard in training. The support lines were great, you’ve got to have that desire to get up the pitch and be on the end of a move like that.”

You’ve got one final game back here to finish off the season in 2 weeks, how special is that going to be? “It’ll be great, we want to put on a performance to thank all the supporters this season. We’re running a family day with rides and slides, we’ve got a big BBQ, live music on after the game. It’s going to be a fantastic occasion. It’s all free so come support the Bulls one last time.”