Banbury produced one of their performances of the season so far with a 70-5 victory over fifth place Trowbridge. Four tries from Tom Burman and a man of the match performance from Quinten Blythe secured all the points.

With the final two games of 2021 being away this would be the final home game of the year for the Bulls. The pre-match lunch was sold out including two tables for our retiring General Manager, Monty. Despite heavy celebrations Thursday evening, Monty and the gang gallantly returned for another round of drinks, fine food and helpful advice to travelling referees and players!

Both sides started very evenly with Trowbridge holding on to the ball well. The away sides attack showed good width, but the Bulls were equal to it. Banbury would open the scoring through a lovely move from the backs. A series of 2 on 1s eventually led to Tom Burman sneaking his way over in the corner before running back inside to get close to the posts. James Miller added the conversion, 7-0.

The Bulls managed to pin Trowbridge 5m from their own line with a good kick to touch. Banbury would steal the resulting lineout and a couple phases later there was no stopping James Hibbert from close range for Banbury’s second score of the afternoon. Converted, 14-0.

Tom Burman was in for his second and Banbury’s third shortly after. James Miller chipped over the Trowbridge defence for Oscar Triggs to gather. Triggs quickly moved the ball to Burman on the halfway line and the pacey winger stuck the afterburners on to outsprint his opposite number and the covering defence. Converted, 21-0.

There was a lengthy delay when a Trowbridge player hurt his foot/ankle towards the end of the second half. We hope the injury is better than it initially looked at the time. From the restart Trowbridge would get themselves on the scoreboard with a try of their own. Gareth Davis driving his way over from close range with a pick and go. Conversion missed, 21-5 HT.

Banbury came out swinging for the second half though and Quinten Blythe quickly secured the Bulls a try bonus point with a brilliant individual try. The winger gathering the ball just outside his own 22 before outpacing his opposite man and showing lovely footwork to sidestep the opposition full-back before scoring under the posts. Converted, 28-5.

Quinten Blythe went from scorer to provider for the next score. Breaking down the left wing before shipping the ball on to Tom Burman. With one man to beat, Burman threw a lovely dummy and step to beat his man before cruising over from out wide to score behind the posts for a fabulous hat-trick. Converted, 35-5.

Quinten would continue to rack up the assists with a lovely chip over the top which Tom MacDonald won the sprint for. Grubbering the ball on before diving on the loose ball over the try line. Converted, 42-5.

Tom Burman would score his fourth try of the afternoon shortly after. Although most of the credit will have to go to Callum Horne on this one. Gathering the ball from the restart the big man burst through a hole in the Trowbridge line, threw a beautiful dummy to keep the run going (and bring out the biggest cheer of the day) before finally being brought down short of the line. The next phase though Miller kicked through, and Burman gathered before working his way close to the posts again. Converted, 49-5.

Duncan Leese brought up the 50 for Banbury with another try. Quinten Blythe showing off all his skill again before drawing the last man and playing in Leese down the left wing. Converted, 56-5.

Tommy Gray was on for the second half, and he set up Banbury’s next score. You’ll struggle to find a more dangerous man in the league when it comes to returning kicks and Gray picked his way through the Trowbridge defence before playing in Quinten Blythe for a very deserved second try. Converted, 63-5.

The Bulls still had time for a final score when Tommy Gray went over. A nice backs move from the Bulls and Duncan Leese found Gray in acres of space for one of the easier scores of his career. Converted, 70-5.

Trowbridge nearly picked up a late consolation try at the end, but the ball was held up bringing out the final whistle. A brilliant display from the Bulls. Trowbridge showed periods of good rugby, but Banbury were far more clinical and always looked dangerous once they got the ball. Quinten Blythe was picked as Banbury’s man of the match. The winger is a special talent and has a knack of always being in the right place at the right time. Combine this with real pace and some beautiful footwork and you get performances like Saturday. Still only 18 it’s scary to think he’ll only improve as he gets older as well.

Match Stats:
Tries: Tom Burman (4) Quinten Blythe (2) James Hibbert, Tom MacDonald, Duncan Leese and Tommy Gray
Conversions: James Miller (8) Ed Phillips (2)

Speaking to Matt Goode after the game:
70-5, that’s got to be one of the performances of the season, hasn’t it?
“It’s a great result but we can still improve. I think our first half was a bit lethargic. We didn’t look after the ball well enough. That’s just me being super critical. We played well, that second half was exceptional. But I want us to keep improving and we could have got more out of that first half.”

Some of the tries today were fantastic, these young boys are full of confidence, aren’t they?
“They are. That was our plan for the second half. Kick less and move the ball around more. Trowbridge kept the ball well when they had it, so it was important we kicked at the right times. We could have easily kicked with the wind, but we played with it and the space opened and with these youngsters, anything is possible. Quinten and Burman are both still young but it’s what this club is about, home grown talent. If we can keep them focused, keep them improving then we’re going to see more of what we did today.”

Next week you’re away at Windsor, that’ll be the halfway point of the season. How do you feel about the season so far?
“First half has gone really well. One slip up away at Bracknell but overall, we’ve played some really good rugby. We’ll review this first half of the season after next week. We’ve got a job to do away at Windsor. We know they’ll be tough at home. We need to pick the right squad and go with the right mentality if we want to win.”

Finally, that was the Bulls final home game of 2021. How big a difference have these supporters made this season?
“They’re unbelievable. For those big games they’ve been our 16th man. Even today, when we’re playing Trowbridge in fifth, we’ve still got a couple hundred up here to support and they are as loud as ever. They love coming up to watch us play, they love to come and see their friends and family play. There’s a real togetherness from everyone. Fourteen of the Eighteen today have come through our Junior section. It’s great for them to play in front of their family. We’re turning this place into a real fortress.”