On a cold and wintry day Banbury Bulls travelled to Lutterworth to continue in their drive for the league championship. Having beaten the same opponents 81-0 in October, Banbury knew that they would be facing a different side on their own ground and that a victory would not come easily.

The Bulls pack that had provided the basis for last week’s victory was relatively unchanged apart from Matt Brock moving from second to back row to cover the absence of flanker Darren de Bruyn, and the introduction of Marc Williams to the second row. The backs saw a number of changes with Mike Smith making his welcome return from injury after 3 months. He replaced Guy Sturla in the centres as Guy had become a father during the week. Congratulations and best wishes to all the Sturlas!

With the pitch hard from the frost there was some doubt as to whether the match would go ahead, but having missed so many matches recently everyone was keen to get out and play some rugby. From the beginning of the game it was clear that the Banbury pack were going to prove a handful for the home side. Throughout the game the Lutterworth set piece was put under pressure and it was from a scrum 5 metres from the home sides line that Banbury opened the scoring after just five minutes. Putting the squeeze on, the Bulls front five drove the opposition back over their line, allowing number 8 Simon Brand to score with the easiest of touchdowns. Fly-half Papenfus was off target with the conversion but the Bulls were up and running at 5-0.

However the home side were not going to let the game run away from them and responded in excellent fashion. Some strong running and good support play, coupled with some poor Banbury tackling allowed Lutterworth to score a converted try to take the lead after just 10 minutes.

In a back-and-forth first half Banbury were next to strike. Quick ruck ball in the Lutterworth 22 was spun out wide and fullback Dave Taylor took advantage of the overlap to take the score to 10-7 to Banbury. However continued handling errors by Banbury contrived to snuff out several promising attacking positions and it was from more set piece pressure that Banbury scored again. An overthrown line-out by Lutterworth in their own 22 fell into the hands of captain Sean Bannister who crashed his way through two would-be tacklers to score. Centre Mike Smith took over the kicking duties and slotted the conversion to give the Bulls a 17-7 lead.

Lutterworth continued to pressurise the Banbury defensive line and with the ball shipped wide, the home side wing was able to slip two Banbury tacklers and go over in the corner. The difficult conversion sneaked over and the teams went in at half-time with Banbury holding a slender 3 point lead at 17-14.

Despite now playing up the slope, it was the home side that came out after the break with more attacking intent. With Banbury forced back to their own try line, the Lutterworth forwards tried to batter their way into the lead with a series of pick-and-drives. However the visiting pack was able to repel the repeated assaults and eventually force a penalty to allow them to clear their lines.

The action now moved into the Lutterworth half where it remained for the majority of the rest of the game. However some resolute defence from the home side and continued mistakes by the visitors kept the scores tight. Mid-way through the second-half the continued pressure of defending told on Lutterworth as one of their locks received a yellow card for illegally slowing the ball down in the ruck, but Banbury were still unable to unlock the Lutts defence.

It was to take yet more set-piece pressure from the Banbury pack to finally add to the score board and seal the win with just two minutes remaining. From a Lutterworth scrum midway in their half, the Bulls front five drove the Lutts scrum backwards. Under pressure from both a retreating scrum and Bulls scrum-half Grant Holmes, the Lutterworth number 8 failed to control the ball and it squirted out of his control. It fell kindly for Brand who took the ball into the Lutterworth 22 before finding Papenfus with a miss-pass on a supporting line outside him. The fly-half had the simplest of run-ins to score Banbury’s fourth try to complete the scoring for the match at 22-14.

Once again the Banbury pack provided the platform and the effort both in the tight and loose was exemplified by the performance of Banbury man-of-the-match, second-row Nick Pratt. However some poor handling and decision-making meant that the Bulls failed to capitalise on their advantages in territory and possession, particularly in the second half.

But a win is a win and the result means that Banbury can go top of the league once again should they win their rearranged fixture against Aylestone St James at Bodicote Park this Saturday, kick-off 2:15pm.