Banbury kept themselves in the promotion hunt with a convincing 45-12 victory vs Frome. A brace of tries for Jacob Mills and Ed Phillips as well as a man of the match performance from Tom Eyston helped the Bulls secure victory.

Ed Phillips got Banbury off to the perfect start when he crossed in the opening minutes. The scrum-half throwing a lovely dummy before darting his way over from close range. James Miller converted, 7-0.

Almost immediately from the restart Banbury had a second score. Banbury kicked to clear their lines but quickly recovered the ball following a knock on. Dan Kirwin broke down the left wing and with one man to beat he played in Tom Eyston for another try. Conversion missed, 12-0.

Frome responded well but the scores remained the same for the next 20 minutes. Banbury would eventually extend their lead with some brilliant work from the forwards. The Bulls had a lineout just outside the opposition 22 but showed great strength to drive their way all the way up to the line before Jacob Mills touched down. Converted, 19-0.

Robert Sully got a try in the corner for the away side to reduce the lead to 19-5 at the half time whistle.

Ed Phillips kept the Bulls on the front foot with his second try of the game. Jack Anderson brilliantly worked his way through the Frome defence before playing in Phillips for an easy score under the posts. Converted, 26-5.

Frome kept plugging away and the backs showed great skill to play in Bailey Rusz for a score in the corner. Converted, 26-12.

Jacob Mills scored his second try of the game and again it was combined with great work from the forwards. The Bulls driving over another rolling maul in the left corner. Conversion missed, 31-12.

The forwards put in a great shift all afternoon and a try for Louis Tooth was well deserved. The young 18-year-old only made his Bulls debut last weekend and was clearly delighted to get his first try for the Bulls. The forwards went through phase after phase and eventually Tooth found the hole in the defence to dive over. Converted, 38-12.

Tom Burman finished off the scoring for Banbury when he caught a cross-field kick from James Miller on the right wing before sprinting his way over under the posts. Converted, 45-12.

Both teams had chances late on, but the scores remained unchanged at the full time whistle. Another solid showing from this young Bulls squad. Banbury will want to be more clinical in the upcoming games but will enjoy a week off sitting 2nd in the table. Tom Eyston was selected as man of the match. The young prop has started this season in fine form and his constant work rate has had huge impacts in attack and defence.

Match Stats:
Tries: Ed Phillips (2) Jacob Mills (2) Tom Eyston, Louis Tooth and Tom Burman
Conversions: James Miller (5)

Speaking to Matt Goode after the game:

45-12, bit of a scrappy one today but another 5 points on the board. How did you feel about that one today?
“Some brilliant rugby in parts, some bits frustrating. To score 45 points is great. The forwards were great today, they were great last week. We knew Frome had some big lads and they’d be strong in the set piece. But overall, we played well as a team. We’re continually improving. We’re trying new things, it’s still early in the season and we’re building up that cohesion.

Grove in two weeks, always a tough place to go to. What are you expecting from that game?
“We’ve got a week off next weekend, so we’ll rest the boys up. Grove is always hard place to go to. It would be great if we could pick up five points. I’ll pick a team based on recent performances and we’ll work on a gameplan to try and get another win.”

We talk a lot about the performances on the pitch but there’s been lots of success off it as well recently. How much do they contribute to each other?
“On the pitch the boys all play for each other. Off the pitch we get great support. Our sponsors are unbelievable, they help in so many ways. I’m immensely proud what we do off the pitch. There was a comment this week that we’re not just a rugby club. We try and see positives in everything. The main thing for me is we’re not developing rugby players, we’re developing people.”