Banbury went to the top of the table for the first time this season with a 23-17 victory over local rivals Oxford Harlequins. A man of the match performance from Tom MacDonald helped the Bulls to victory!

After a weekend off Banbury were nearing full strength for availability. Matt Goode faced some serious selection headaches and there were 10 changes to the starting XV that played against Marlborough just a fortnight ago. Oxford Harlequins were undefeated in the league before this game and only a points deduction for some lockdown indiscretions meant they were one point behind Banbury in the table.

James Miller settled any early nerves with a penalty in the opening minutes for Banbury after Oxford were penalised for crossing, 3-0.

Oxford responded well with a try of their own to take the lead for the away side. Ewan Fox crossing from close range after some good patience from the Oxford pack drew the defence in to create space for the backs. Conversion missed, 3-5.

Banbury would retake the lead with another penalty. Oxford penalised for a high seatbelt style tackle. James Miller made it 2 from 2 with the boot, 6-5.

Tom MacDonald scored arguably the try of the game when he finished off a lovely score from Banbury’s half. Tom Burman broke down the left wing before offloading to Dan Tooth who drew the last man and played in MacDonald. The flanker still had plenty to do but outsprinted his opposite number for a score in the corner. Converted, 13-5.

Both teams received yellow cards midway through the first half. First Jonny Ireland was given 10 minutes in the bin for not rolling away as Banbury looked like they might extend their lead. Tommy Gray quickly joined him after a high tackle. Gray unfortunate as the player was toe tapped in to contact.

Banbury controlled the first half, and another try from Jacob Turner was full deserved for the home side. A rolling maul was stopped just short of the line but a couple of phases later Turner used all his height to stretch out and score. Conversion missed, 18-5.

Oxford came out for the second half clearly fired up, but it was Banbury who would extend the lead. Duncan Leese with a lovely chip over the top of the Oxford defence before catching his own kick and scoring in the corner. Conversion missed, 23-5.

Quins would fight back for the remainder of the game. Vili Hakolo ran a lovely line to score for Oxford to reduce the lead. Good luck to any teams trying to stop this bloke from 2m out with a run up. Converted, 23-12.

Jack Antoniou would score in the corner for Oxford to bring it back to a one score game. Banbury did well to stop a rolling maul from crossing, but the backs showed good hands to shift the ball from one side of the pitch to the other before a score in the corner. Conversion missed, 23-17.

Banbury nearly scored a lovely team try late on to settle the game but knocked on with the try line only metres away. Such is the maturity of this squad though the Bulls never panicked and controlled the remainder of the game to either keep possession or let Oxford have the ball but deep in their own half. Harlequins had a late chance with a rolling maul, but Banbury countered perfectly to bring up the full-time whistle.

A great result for Banbury. The Bulls won the game with their first half performance. A couple chances were missed by the Bulls with the only disappoint being not to get a try bonus point. Still a thoroughly enjoyable victory for the boys and some sore heads on Sunday morning we imagine. Tom MacDonald was selected as Banbury’s man of the match. The flanker scored a great try but his overall work rate round the pitch and crucial turnovers made a huge impact for Banbury.

Match Stats:
Tries: Tom MacDonald, Jacob Turner and Duncan Leese
Penalties: James Miller (2)
Conversions: James Miller (1)

Speaking to Matt Goode after the game:
23-17 victory, top of the league after results went your way, you must be delighted?
“Very happy with the result, three wins for the club today. A good win against a strong Oxford Harlequins side. Great day for the club. Over the week I’ve had to make some really tough decisions. You look at the second team result today, and it shows you the depth we’ve got here at the moment. We’ve got a really impressive squad, we’ve rotated a lot to keep players fresh but still picked up results. I’m really happy with the direction the club is going.”

You really had some serious selection headaches this week. How many sleepless nights did you have this week trying to work out selection?
“Pretty much all of them! It was a really tough decision. It was based on how we wanted to play. How boys have trained. It wasn’t the prettiest performance. It was a dogged performance. We let them in for twenty minutes and we’ll definitely need to look at that. If we want to continue beating sides, we need to put in performances for eighty minutes. We played some good rugby and put them under a lot of pressure for 60 minutes.”

Three teams at home today which is an achievement in itself. Three wins, 14 players on the bench for the third team, probably at least 10 players in the 2s who’ve played for the Bulls this year. It’s a pretty special weekend for the club, isn’t it?
“It’s a testament to all the coaches here. Jamie Lakin with the 2s, Paul Handley with the 3s, John Baker with the Colts. All our mini and junior coaches. That club ethos and how we raise these young players. I think we had over 60% of the senior players out there this weekend come through our youth section. That’s incredible. The number is closer to 80% for the first team. Results on the pitch have been great but we’re doing amazing things off the pitch as well.”

Sherborne away next weekend. It doesn’t get much further away than that. How important is to follow up today with a performance next week?
“You’re only as good as your last game. Today we’ve had a great result, we were good. But Sherborne away is going to be really tough. We need to make sure we’re in the right mental state for that game. Sherborne lost today which was a bit of a surprise but that can be the most dangerous time to play some teams because they’ll want to make amends as quickly as possible.”