Banbury largely dominated possession and territory in the opening 15 minutes but had no points to show for their hard work. In fact, it was the away side who would open the scoring. The Bulls overthrowing a lineout in their own 22 and a couple phases later after some slick hands Gareth Jenkins dived over under the posts. Marcus Raymond converting. Banbury 0 Old Patesians 7.

Some good heads up play from Duncan Leese helped level the scores. Nick Pratt made a half break with Leese helping drive Pratt through a small gap in the opposition line before ripping the ball, spinning out the breakdown and touching down under the posts. Leese converted his own try, 7-7.

Matthew Dean added a second try for the visitors after some poor defending from the Bulls. Patesians finding far too many holes in the Banbury line. Converted, 7-14.

A lovely show and go from Tommy Gray helped Banbury level the scores. Gray bursting through the opposition defence before playing in Dan Kirwin who cut in from out wide to touch down under the posts. Converted, 14-14.

Tommy Gray scored a fine solo try to give Banbury the lead at the half-time whistle. Duncan Leese made the initial break, getting the Bulls on the front foot. Gray attacked the retreating backline before throwing a lovely dummy and touching down to the right of the posts. Converted, 21-14.

Old Patesians kicked a penalty early on in the second half to reduce the lead to 21-17. Banbury penalised for not releasing.

The Bulls picked up a try bonus point early in the second half. The Banbury pack pulled in the majority of the opposition players before Ed Phillips got the ball out to Tommy Gray who chipped behind for an easy catch and score for Joe Mills in the clubhouse corner. Conversion missed, 26-17.

Joe Mills made a brilliant run from his own 22 to the oppositions to setup a try for Alex Caviezel Cox in the clubhouse corner. Conversion missed, 31-17.

Banbury finished the scoring with one of their tries of the season so far. Old Patesians were held up over the line but the resulting 5m scrum looked like a pretty good attacking platform for the away side. As the number 8 peeled off the back of the scrum Ed Phillips ripped the ball out before putting boot to ball. Some brilliant carries and support lines from the Bulls allowed Alex Caviezel Cox to score his second try in the clubhouse corner when moments earlier Banbury were defending metres from their own line. Conversion missed, 36-17.

The final whistle followed shortly after. A great result against a team in good form. The Bulls won’t have been happy with their first half and probably fortunate to go in with the lead, but the second half was top class from Banbury. Tommy Gray was selected as Banbury’s Man of the Match. The fly-half was on fire. A fine solo try and at the heart of many of the other scores as well. Next weekend Banbury travel to Oxford Harlequins before facing them again in 2 weeks in the County Cup.

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

Classic game of two halves today. Not Banbury’s best first half but really turned it on for the second. How did you feel about today’s game?
“First half they put us under a lot of pressure. To score three tries was good but we were lucky to go inside up at half time. I was a little bit frustrated at how we fronted up. We were a bit lacklustre in our line speed. Our positioning in defence was a bit off as well. We sort of mainly put that right in the second half. Some brilliant defending which we then turned in to brilliant attacks.”

In recent weeks you’ve had a lot of injuries, including again today. Do you think that has had a big impact on some of Banbury’s performances?
“Definitely, injuries are always hard and will ruin your momentum. We talk about it a lot but it’s a testament to the squad we’ve got at the moment that we can still beat a good Old Patesians side despite the injuries. Having five front rowers playing as the front five in the pack. Having a hooker and a prop playing second-row for most of that game today shows we’ve got really good talent. We’ve got a scrumhalf filling in at flanker for most of the game as well. It shows the boys really want it and the boys have got the talent to play multiple positions.”

Strange situation ahead with back to back games vs Oxford Harlequins. How are you going to be preparing for those two games?
“We’ll enjoy this win first and then training on Tuesday we’ll change our focus. We need to see who we’ve got available this week. We know Quins bring a lot of passion and a lot of fire. We need to improve our defence and our ball retention for next weekend. The 4G pitch may suit us. We thought that at Chippenham though and that didn’t go to plan. We all love these games. Two weeks in a row is going to be a testing time.”

Point Scorers:
Tries: Alex Caviezel Cox (2) Duncan Leese, Dan Kirwin, Tommy Gray, Joe Mills
Conversions: Duncan Leese (3)

15. Joe Mills (Sponsored by: DTC International) *
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 (Sponsored by: Hollywood Bowl) *
10. Tommy Gray (Sponsored by: Edd Frost & Daughters) *
9. Alex Caviezel Cox (Sponsored by: Jamie Briggs Removals & Storage) *

1. James Leonardi (Sponsored by: Tim Varney) *
2. Chris Davies (Sponsored by: GDC Rail & Civils)
3. Liam Lloyd
4. Ian Isham (Captain) (Sponsored by: William Green Architects) *
5. Nick Pratt *
6. Joel Thomas (Sponsored by: The Troopers)
7. Jacob Mills (Sponsored by: Hire Safe Solutions) *
8. Keiran Fitzgibbon (Sponsored by: Heaven & Stubbs) *

Replacements:
16. Ken Key (Sponsored by: Lockwoods Ski and Outdoor)
17. Jack Briggs (Sponsored by: Parkinsons Master Thatchers) *
18. Ed Phillips (Sponsored by: P Montanaro – ITSM Consultancy) *

*Graduate of the Banbury Youth Section