Match Report by Alex Morris

From the start, Banbury’s youthful and mobile pack had the upper hand. Man of the match Max Bending carried in his usual barnstorming fashion, and left the opposition creased in his wake as he crossed for four tries. He was ably assisted by the dynamic physical presence of Brad Andrew in the engine room, Banbury youth section graduate James Roberts, and the tireless fraternal duo of Ethan and Oscar Gudge. Veteran front row pairing of Owen Perkins and Russell White added their considerable experience, whilst former vice captain Alex Nicholls was industrious throughout.

Last year’s Player’s player Matt Bone was the spine of the team, providing the structure for out-half James Blake, who as ever was imperious with every undertaking of the boot. The half-backs combined to unleash a centre-partnership forged in primary school of Seb Green and Dave Burke. Green’s vision and defence allowed Burke to run his trademark hard lines, and he was rewarded with a fine try in the first half.

The back three consisted of debutant Brad Morgan, who was a constant sniping threat, hard-hitting Harry Gillett, who was unshakeable in defence, and the captain on the day Alex Morris, who danced his way through counterattacks, but was not truly tested by a subdued Aylesbury attack.

In truth, Banbury should have had more tries than eight. Overlaps were spurned by blinkered runners, and penalties at ruck time cost valuable field-position. After a period of sustained pressure, Aylesbury got a consolation try when Banbury found themselves defensively disorganised.

In response, to keep things fresh, Coach Handley rang the changes. In the forwards, classy young back-rowers James Ford, Benn Brock and Richard Phillips entered the fray, alongside versatile man-mountain Jamie Bowen. In the backs a positional shakeup saw club legend Matt “Ferret” Teall assume the wing berth, Sam Manning slot in at fullback, and Harry Graham parachute into the centres.

With the defence tired, and the attack refreshed, the game loosened up and Graham and Manning bagged tries after hard running from Bowen and Ford followed by quick hands from Morris and Green allowed them to use the afterburners on the outside. The Gudge brothers linked for a miraculous try that allowed both to take credit in the bar.

Wanderers host Gosford All Blacks next week, hoping to build on Saturday’s performance in order to claim 5 points and keep up their charge at the front of the pack vying for the BBO3N title.