Banbury had to make 8 changes to the squad that drew 6-6 at Royal Wootton Bassett last weekend. Salisbury have been struggling in the league this season, but it was good to see former Banbury player Angus Johnson in the starting line-up for Salisbury.

Banbury were forced in to two early changes in the opening stages. Liam Lloyd with what looked like ankle ligament damage and Caleb Shepherd with a hamstring strain. With no points in the opening 20 minutes the game threatened to be a repeat of last weekend’s low scoring affair.

Salisbury were the side to break the deadlock with former Banbury man Angus Johnson coming back to haunt his old club. The flanker driving his way over from a metre out. Nicholas Wotton added the extras to make it Banbury 0 Salisbury 7.
Going behind seemed to kick Banbury into gear. Ed Phillips made a brilliant run to break into the Salisbury 22 before passing inside to Keiran Fitzgibbon who touched down under the posts. Ed Phillips converted, 7-7.

Banbury took the lead after Dan Brady dived over in the corner. The Banbury pack won a penalty after Salisbury collapsed a rolling maul and Alex Caviezel Cox reacted sharply with a quick tap and go. Some slick hands from the Bulls and Brady did well to stay in play before scoring out wide. Conversion missed, 12-7.

Salisbury piled on the pressure before half time looking for a way through the Banbury line, but the Bulls defence was up to the challenge and kept the scores the same at the half time whistle.

Dan Brady scored his second try of the game early in the second half. Some fancy footwork out wide saw Brady beat two men before finishing with a lovely one-handed diving finish. Conversion missed, 17-7.

Straight from the restart Banbury secured a try bonus point. Salisbury kicked deep but the Bulls ran the ball back hard and Dan Brady broke down the left wing. Brady waited and waited before finally drawing the opposition full-back and passing inside to James Jennings for a score to the left of the posts. Converted, 24-7.

Joel Thomas came on for his Bulls debut early in the second half and had an instant impact, ripping the ball from his opposite number to turn the ball over. The backs countered quickly, and it was Dan Brady who found himself with space to run in to. The winger chipped the ball inside, and James Jennings pounced on the ball before scoring under the posts. Converted, 31-7.

Banbury increased the lead when Duncan Leese scored in the clubhouse corner. Banbury had broke deep into the Salisbury half and the centre timed his run perfectly to be the quickest to react to a chip over the top from Ed Phillips. Converted, 38-7.

Joel Thomas rounded off the game with a brilliant individual try. From just inside the Salisbury half the flanker broke through multiple tackles before touching down under the posts for one of the scores of the game. Ed Phillips converted to make it 45-7.

The full-time whistle followed shortly after. 5 big points which closed to the gap to the top two after Old Centralians lost and Royal Wootton Bassett narrowly beat Buckingham 15-17. The Bulls certainly weren’t at their best in the first half but really turned it on for the second. Dan Brady was excellent, Joel Thomas enjoyed a fantastic debut, showing great passion and determination but it was James Jennings who was named man of the match. Two tries, turnovers, great lineout throwing, and some brilliant runs capped a fantastic performance. The flanker was everywhere and in almost every break was up with play ready to keep the move going. Next week Banbury travel to 5th place Sherbourne which will undoubtably be a tough fixture away from home.

Speaking to Matt Goode after the game:

45-7. Not Banbury’s best first half but that second was pretty special wasn’t it?
“I think we did ok. First half it was a bit of an arm wrestle. They had a game plan to keep the ball and try and starve us of possession. That worked to a degree. We had quite a lot of changes this week, I don’t think that helped. Plus, two early changes in the game as well. We’ve got a big enough squad to change what we do and still play the way we want to. Overall, I’m fairly happy. It really was a game of two halves and thankfully we showed what we could do in the second.”

You’ve got some brilliant young players coming through, at the moment. Joel Thomas off the bench today, James Jennings picking up man of the match. They’ve brought some real skill and energy to the team. Have you been particularly impressed by some of them?
“Absolutely, we’re a club that takes pride in bringing youngsters through. 70% of the players have come through our Colts system. I’m immensely proud to have that label that we produce some really talented rugby players here. We’ve had lots of players step up in the 2’s and 3’s this season, and the results have been great.”

The 2’s won 91-7. The 3’s won 44-7. There have been some fantastic results across the entire senior section this season. Is there anything you can put that down to?
“I think we’ve got it right as a club. It’s taken a few years as a club to get the culture and everything ready. When we’ve got 60+ at training and they want to be a part of this squad we’re doing something right. The guys don’t mind who they’re playing for, 1’s, 2’s or 3’s. It doesn’t matter which team you’re playing for the badge is the same.”

Finally, Sherbourne away next weekend. A total unknown for us but they’ve picked up some really good results. Are you expecting a really tough one next weekend?
“Yeah, definitely. We know nothing about them. We’ve got to make sure we don’t worry about them too much and we play our patterns of rugby. But look, we’re dangerous. We’re confident against any team if we bring our A-game. We need to make sure we are mentally ready. We know Sherbourne are going to be class. There isn’t an easy game in this league, so we need to make sure we’re firing on all cylinders.”

Scorers:
Tries: Dan Brady (2) James Jennings (2) Keiran Fitzgibbon, Duncan Leese, Joel Thomas
Conversions: Ed Phillips (5)

15. Dan Kirwin (Sponsored by: Hollywood Bowl)
14. Jack Briggs (Sponsored by: Wykham Park Farm)
13. Caleb Shepherd
12. Duncan Leese (Captain) (Sponsored by Wednesday Strollers)
11. Dan Brady (Sponsored by: Allsafe Scaffolding)
10. Ed Phillips (Sponsored by: P Montanaro – ITSM Consultancy)
9. Alex Caviezel Cox (Sponsored by: Jamie Briggs Removals & Storage)

1. James Leonardi (Sponsored by: Tim Varney)
2. Felix Marot
3. Liam Lloyd
4. Kallum Dixey (Sponsored by: Gallagher Insurance Brokers)
5. Will Thurlow
6. Jacob Mills (Sponsored by: Hire Safe Solutions)
7. James Jennings
8. Keiran Fitzgibbon (Sponsored by: Heaven & Stubbs)

Replacements:
16. Steve Potter
17. Joel Thomas
18. Tom Burman