Banbury got 2022 off to the perfect start with a 25-22 victory over promotion rivals Bracknell. A man of the match performance from Luke Hallam-Evans helped secure a thrilling victory.

With the last round of fixtures before Christmas cancelled because of Covid there was some uncertainty if the league would continue like normal to begin the new year. The Bulls continued to train and eventually the green light was given for fixtures to continue as scheduled. Banbury finished the first half of the season top of the league, with their only defeat this season coming away at Bracknell at the beginning of the season.

Banbury were determined to get revenge back at Bodicote Park and an early James Miller penalty got the Bulls off to a perfect start. Bracknell penalised for not rolling away. 3-0.

The first game after Christmas can sometimes be a scrappy contest but the Banbury backs produced a brilliant score to increase the lead. Tom Burman found his way through some impossible gaps before finally being brought down. Duncan Leese picked the ball up and continued the break and did brilliantly to find Dan Brady on his inside shoulder to release the winger for the opening try under the posts. Converted, 10-0.

Bracknell got back into the game with a nice lineout move right off the training ground. Setting up like they were going for a driving maul before popping to two front rowers looping round the blind side for a score in the far corner. Jasper Miranda touching down for the away side. Conversion missed, 10-5.

Thomas Field could count himself extremely lucky after he only received a yellow card when he cleared out Quinten Blythe in the air while he was trying to take a catch. Field was in no realistic position to catch the ball and only Quinten landing on his shoulders rather than his head saving the flanker from an early finish.

Banbury would dominate the remainder of the half with the extra man. The Bulls would have two tries not given after there being no clear and obvious grounding, but Tom Burman would score an excellent try to give Banbury an extended lead at the break. Tommy Gray with a lovely half break before finding Burman. The outside centre still had plenty to do but powered his way over the line in the clubhouse corner. Conversion missed, 15-5.

Bracknell showed great resilience to come back in the second half and win at their place earlier in the season and Saturday’s game followed a similar path. David Barron touching down at the back of a rolling maul in the opening minutes of the second half narrowing the lead. Converted, 15-12.

Jasper Miranda touched down another rolling maul for Bracknell shortly after to give the away side their first lead of the game. Conversion missed, 15-17.

Roared back into the game by a fired-up Banbury crowd the Bulls instantly went back on the attack. Ed Phillips chipped over the top for Duncan Leese who was stopped inches short of the line. With the away side struggling to get their defence set, Tommy Gray expertly chipped to the corner for Joe Mills to catch and score in the right-hand corner. Ed Phillips added a brilliant touchline conversion to make it 22-17.

Ed Phillips kicked a penalty for Banbury to make it a two-score game for the Bulls after Bracknell were penalised for hands in the ruck. 25-17.

Bracknell threw everything at Banbury to try and find a way back into the game. The Bulls defence was fantastic all game but penalties meant Bracknell could continue to make ground. The Bracknell rolling maul was a weapon all game and clearly a tactic the away side focused on considering the conditions. With a little over 10 minutes remaining, Kenneth Hodgson touched down at the back of another lineout move for Bracknell. Conversion missed, 25-22. Jacob Turner was also yellow carded for Banbury after attempting to pull down the maul illegally.

Chris Davies looked like he’d scored a try for Banbury to seal the game for the Bulls but was cruelly penalised to give Bracknell hope of a late comeback. The away side went through the phases and slowly made ground as the extra man started to count. Bracknell turned down a tricky but kickable penalty to kick to the corner instead and go for the win. The Bulls put bodies on the line to keep Bracknell out. Duncan Leese suffering a nasty head injury trying to keep Bracknell from scoring. A player who never gives anything less than a 100%, we hope he makes a swift recovery. The seriousness of Duncan’s injury wouldn’t become apparent until after the final whistle and as play continued Bracknell continued to throw everything at Banbury. Ed Phillips and Joe Mills did brilliantly to roll the Bracknell attacker on to his back and hold the ball up over the Banbury line to end an incredible contest.

A brilliant game to open up the year. Banbury will have been frustrated not to have a bigger lead at half time but credit to Bracknell who came back into the game well. In a game littered with fine performances, Luke Hallam-Evans stood out as Banbury’s man of the match. Luke carried fantastically all game, defended well and put a huge shift in for the whole 80 minutes.

Speaking to Matt Goode after the game:

25-22 victory over your promotion rivals, is that the best way to start a new year?
“Absolutely, Bracknell were the only team to have beaten us this year and to come away with the win is outstanding. I’m proud of the boys. Are performance was okay, but our efforts were outstanding. The game swung back and forth but I thought the boys showed great character when we went behind. Going straight up the field and scoring a fantastic try of their own. We had a couple chances in the first half where we should have been away and 20 points ahead but that’s rugby for you. Sometimes you get some calls for you, sometimes you don’t. I’m happy, it was nail biting at the end there. It shouldn’t have been but I’m happy we got the win.”

The number of times Banbury have come out on top in one score games is remarkable. Not just today but probably over the last 5 years. The crowd support, the boys coming through the youth section knowing what it means to play for the club, all these extra 1-2 percent’s really add up by the time you get to the final whistle don’t they?
“Definitely, I think 14 of the 18 today came through Banbury’s youth section which shows great credit to the coaches and the club. It also helps with the crowds, people bring their family and friends. The support makes a massive difference. We’re still in really uncertain times and to get everyone up here, it’s unreal. I want to say a massive well done to Luke Hallam-Evans today. Luke’s the oldest of those 14 local Banbury boys but he’s still putting in an incredible effort, in games and at training. He played the full 80 minutes today. He did a great job all game and I’m really proud of him.”

Bit of a local derby away at Buckingham next week. What are you expecting from that?
“It’s going to be a tough contest. We need to make sure we get the strategy and gameplan right. They’re always up for their games when they play us. I think it’s going to close. It can be muddy and rugged there and we need to pick the right team for the game.”