A youthful Banbury hosted newly promoted Windsor to begin their South West 1 East campaign. Matt Goode handed starts to new signings Ben George and Will Thurlow. Alex Caviezel Cox also started on his return to the club. James Leonardi was playing for the Colts last season, but Goode showed faith in his young prop and handed him his first start for the Bulls.

Banbury started well and took the lead in the opening two minutes. Jack Briggs made a good break and as the ball was recycled Ed Berridge found himself free to run through for an opening score. Unfortunately for Banbury, Berridge was tripped by a Windsor player after scoring and injured his shoulder, ruling him out the game and potentially for the next few weeks. Tommy Gray pushed his conversion wide. 5-0. Jack Briggs came on in place of Berridge, playing 6 instead of his usual 12.

Windsor responded well to going behind and within minutes were level. Jack Gaylor took a quick penalty and offloaded to Adam Bailes who crashed over from close range. Conversion missed. 5-5.

In a blistering opening 10 minutes Banbury were quickly back in front. The backs switched the ball from one side of the pitch to the other and Alex Caviezel Cox played in Justin Parker to sneak his way over in the corner. Conversion missed. 10-5. Shortly after, Banbury’s reshuffled pack lost another man when Jacob Mills limped off with a leg injury. Chris Davies came on for his Bulls debut with Ian Isham switching to number 8.

Banbury extended their lead following a lovely break from Tommy Gray. Gray was stopped just short but the ball was popped up to James Leonardi to crash his way over for a try on his full debut. Much to the delight of the players and supporters. Another tricky conversion went narrowly wide. 10-5.

Windsor narrowed the lead at the half time whistle. Jack Gaylor kicking a penalty to make it 15-8.

The Bulls were gifted the perfect start to the second half. Windsor knocked on the phase after the restart and Duncan Leese scooped the ball of the floor before sprinting his way under the posts. Tommy Gray converted, 22-8.

Immediately after Banbury had a scrum on the halfway line after the restart didn’t go 10 metres. The Backs attacked the left flank and Tommy Gray threw a lovely pass for Dan Brady to run on to. The pacey winger had come on at half time but was quickly up to speed, showing brilliant feet to beat his man and score. Brady set his man up before tiptoeing his way down an impossible gap close to the side-line before cruising his way in under the posts. Converted, 29-8.

The Bulls were rampant and put in an early contender for try of the season. From the edge of their own 22 Tommy Gray started a brilliant run by spinning out of two tackles. As the defenders closed in Gray passed to Alex Caviezel Cox, CC drew more men before passing to Brady who angled his sprint to score in the corner for try number two. Conversion missed. 34-8.

Kallum Dixey saw yellow after lazily retreating back onside. It looked harsh but later turned out to be a team yellow after too many penalties.

Windsor turned the extra man into points. From a 5-metre lineout the Windsor pack got a rolling maul over the line for their captain and hooker, Greg Drew to score. Where have we heard that before?! Gaylor converted, 34-15.

Windsor couldn’t take further advantage of the extra man and when a 7 man scrum including backs Jack Briggs and Justin Parker won a penalty it received the biggest cheer of the day.

Another scrum in the Windsor 22 was the perfect platform for the backs to launch their next attack. Duncan Leese showed lovely hands to play in Jack Briggs who ran in untouched under the posts. Tommy Gray added the easy extras, 41-15.

Duncan Leese went from provider to scorer minutes later. Will Thurlow got Banbury in to the 22 and with the defence back peddling Ben George whipped a lovely pass to Leese to score in the clubhouse corner. Gray converted well, 48-15.

The Bulls were firing on all cylinders and from a 5-metre lineout a rolling maul was stopped just short. Although they were stopped short, the pack had sucked in the majority of the Windsor defenders. Tommy Gray put in a cross-field kick which Dan Brady caught and dotted down for his hat-trick score. Conversion missed. 53-15.

Banbury had time for one more score before the final whistle. And it was that man Dan Brady again. The backs switched the ball from one side-line to the other and Alex Caviezel Cox played in Dan Brady close to the halfway line. The Windsor defender looked like he had the angle covered but Brady showed off his fancy footwork and all his pace to leave his opposite number red faced before scoring in the corner. Tommy Gray converted from the side-line to bring up the full-time whistle, 60-15.

A brilliant performance from Banbury to begin the season. With so many changes this offseason the Bulls could have been forgiven for not clicking straight away and two early injuries would have further exacerbated that, but Banbury looked fantastic. They were quick, exciting and full of confidence. Tommy Gray was Banbury’s Man of the Match. Gray has switched from his usual full-back to flyhalf this season but looked totally at home in his new role. He pulled the strings beautifully and was at the heart of many of Banbury’s attacks. Jack Briggs had a quality game out of position at flanker and the new boys looked really sharp. A try for 18-year-old, James Leonardi, capped a meteoric rise for the youngster this summer.

Speaking to Banbury Bulls, Head Coach, Matt Goode:

60-15, is that the perfect way to start the season? “Absolutely. I thought we were outstanding. Clinical in the second half and that showed with the amount of points we added after half time. We had a brilliant pre-season. Now we just need to keep building. Keep playing our way. We spoke about what we needed to change at half time. We knew it was going to be tight. We knew they were going to fly into us. We made sure we retained that ball, the more phases we played the bigger the gaps got.”

A lot of changes in the team over the summer, debutants, a young former colt how do you feel the team gelled today? “I think they’ve come into the team really well. They’ve brought a lot of professionalism, a lot of positivity. We’ve lost some big characters and some wise heads, but the youngsters have showed great maturity. They’ve settled in really well.”

Two injuries in the pack in the opening 15 minutes, with only one forward on the bench was it tricky to fill those positions, were you impressed by the boys that came in? “It’s sods law, you usually have two forwards on the bench. It was an unfortunate incident with Ed off the ball which wasn’t very nice. That might be Jacko’s new position I thought he was fantastic at 6 and 8. We know our boys have got plenty of skills and can play nearly anywhere. It’s a testament to the way we train that the boys are comfortable playing out of position.”

Try Scorers: Dan Brady (4) Duncan Leese (2) Ed Berridge, Justin Parker, James Leonardi, Jack Briggs.
Conversions: Tommy Gray (5)

15. Alex Caviezel Cox (Sponsored by: Jamie Briggs Removals & Storage)
14. Justin Parker (Sponsored by Wurzel Broadband)
13. Duncan Leese (Sponsored by Wednesday Strollers)
12. Jack Briggs (Sponsored by: Wykham Park Farm)
11. Dan Kirwin
10. Tommy Gray (Sponsored by: Edd Frost & Daughters)
9. Ben George (Sponsored by: Rugbyshield)

1. Ken Key (Sponsored by: Lockwoods Ski and Outdoor)
2. Ian Isham (Captain) (Sponsored by: William Green Architects)
3. James Leonardi (Sponsored by: Tim Varney)
4. Kallum Dixey (Sponsored by: Gallagher Insurance Brokers)
5. Will Thurlow
6. Jacob Mills (Sponsored by: Hire Safe Solutions)
7. Tom McDonald
8. Ed Berridge (Sponsored by: BKR Property Floorplans and Lease Plans)

Replacements:
16. Chris Davies
17. Jack Briggs (Sponsored by: Parkinsons Master Thatchers)
18. Dan Brady (Sponsored by: Allsafe Scaffolding)