Exmouth 17 Bracknell 18

Match photos can be seen at http://www.solidphotos.com/main.php?g2_itemId=20838

BRACKNELL player-coach Chris Sheasby has warned his players that their tendency to lose concentration in games could come back to haunt them later in the season.
Bracknell, after dominating for long periods at Exmouth on Saturday, needed a late penalty from Ben Nowak to earn them an 18-17 win, the second time they have won by such a scoreline in Devon in less than a month.
Former England international Sheasby played the full 80 minutes on Saturday, scoring Bracknell’s first try early in the second half, but insists that allowing teams to get back into games will cost them dearly in one of their big games to come.
Bracknell, in the semi-final of the Berkshire Cup and into their last six South West Division 1 games, will need to keep their focus in the vital games that will make or break their season.
The Lily Hill Men face Bournemouth and Clifton at home and Redingensians away in the space of three weeks at the end of the season, three games that will undoubtedly play a huge part in where Bracknell finish – three games where they simply can’t afford a lapse in concentration.
“We played some really sublime rugby, but we still make life difficult for ourselves,” said Sheasby.
“It’s another one-point win on the road, but at the end of the day someone is smiling down on us.
“But, at some point, when it comes to a crucial game that we really want, that someone will say ‘no – you’ve ridden your luck’ and that will be it.
“It will hurt us and we will lose the one that we really, really want.
“It could be a play-off game, or a final of the Berkshire Cup.
“I asked the players why they want to take that risk.
“The simple fact is that they (Exmouth) didn’t get out of their own half in the first 25-30 minutes.
“Every time they won possession back they were clearing scrappy ball and we were immediately back on our line-out, where I don’t think we lost one all day.
“You can last doing that for 50 minutes or so, but in the last half hour you are going to tire and people are going to start breaking tackles so I would have been happy at 3-0 at half time.
“The point is that it’s a chess game – a fast one, but a chess game nonetheless – where defending for 40 minutes is going to take its toll.
“If we had gone into half time at 3-0 and then gone into the second half and scored like we did, suddenly we would have been at 15-0.
“But one piece of sloppiness from the kick off, two penalties in a row and then one attacking play with one missed tackle and they score a try, so suddenly they’re up at half time 7-3.
“In the second half we played the same way we did in the first and they started missing tackles because they were tired and then it was 15-7.
“We then went from the sublime rugby back to the ridiculous with back-to-back slips – penalties, not chasing kicks, not kicking into touch, we stopped scrummaging and didn’t mark a quick kick off.
“It’s our 10-minute blip.
“Against Weston-Super-Mare we didn’t have a 10-minute blip and we won 40-3.
“Today we should have won at least 20-7.
“It is frustrating, but we’ve won.
“We’ve got to take a hard look at ourselves, but these road trips are difficult and Exmouth are on a roll.”
Report:

Exmouth 17 Bracknell 18

BRACKNELL produced a carbon-copy of their previous trip to Devon, scoring late points to seal an 18-17 win to keep the pressure on South West Division 1 rivals Clifton and Bournemouth.
Last month, Bracknell scored a last-minute try to beat Barnstaple 18-17 in Devon, and repeated that score on Saturday as captain Ben Nowak slotted home a late penalty to clinch victory at Exmouth.
Nowak, however, was less than impressed with the way his side allowed Exmouth to claw their way back into the game.
“At the end of the day we were lucky to get the win,” he said.
“We tackled poorly and we weren’t our normal selves.
“In the first half we were reasonably pleased because we dominated for 35 minutes, we had the territory and the possession, but we didn’t quite get the breakthrough we should have had.
“We then conceded a sloppy try which got them back into it – their tails were up all the second half and we had to dig deep in the end.
“Our self belief and calmness under pressure to do the right things got us the result, but we got it by the skin of our teeth.
“There’s a lot to work on, but we go home with a smile because we got the win.
“They (Exmouth) have been doing very well at home, they’ve got three wins out of three since Christmas with two home wins, and they’re a form side so it’s never easy to come to these places.”
Bracknell made the trip to Exmouth on Friday, and although an overnight house fire near their hotel disrupted the squad’s sleep, they weren’t showing any signs of fatigue in the opening stages of the game.
An early penalty miss by Exmouth’s Nick Grant allowed Bracknell to exert pressure on the home side, but for all their slick passing moves, Bracknell found their opponents difficult to penetrate.
Midway through the first period, however, with Bracknell barely forced back into their own half, it became clear that Exmouth would need to sustain a gargantuan effort to keep Bracknell out all game.
Nowak opened the scoring with a penalty from wide out on the left, and although Exmouth responded well, Grant’s penalty a couple of minutes later was dragged wide of the uprights.
This didn’t seem to knock Bracknell off their stride, and they continued to peg Exmouth back in their own half.
However, with half-time edging ever near, Exmouth shocked the visitors when, on their first real foray into opposition territory, they managed to recycle the ball and feed centre Dale Sleeman to cross over on the far left.
Grant made no mistake with the penalty and, having seemingly been in complete control, Bracknell now found themselves 7-3 down.
Bracknell’s response was immediate, and with the last play of the half, prop Andy Van Zyl was denied a certain try by a tremendous tackle on the line.
Bracknell started the second half in determined fashion, and less than three minutes had passed before a huge drive from the Bracknell pack on the left was finished off by player-coach Chris Sheasby, who played the full game at number eight.
Nowak made no mistake with the conversion, putting Bracknell 10-7 ahead.
Moments later, Bracknell’s expansive play earned them a second try.
Nick Shears made a darting run for the line on the right wing, and after being stopped, Bracknell worked the ball back across the pitch where Stuart Mackay was on hand to drive over for his seventh try of the season.
Although Nowak missed the conversion, Bracknell appeared comfortable at 15-7 with 30 minutes left.
The visitors, though, began to lose concentration, and Exmouth sensed a way back into the game.
Full-back David Budge had to time his tackle to perfection to prevent opposite number John Bordiss finishing a 70m run.
Exmouth, now enjoying their best spell of the game, pulled the score back to 15-10 when Grant scored a penalty from the 22, and then on 66 minutes, Joe Heaver was denied a try after a forward pass from Bordiss.
Bracknell were now living a charmed life and rejuvenated Exmouth scored their inevitable try when Matt Ryab crossed over on the right, and Grant’s conversion took the score to 17-15.
This forced Bracknell into action, and soon they were camped in the Exmouth 22 once again, and when the hosts were penalised for holding on, Nowak was left with an easy kick to put his side 18-17 up and himself become joint top points kicker in the division.
Although Grant was given one more penalty to try and salvage the win for Exmouth, the diminutive fly-half missed his kick and Bracknell held out for the vital two points.
Bracknell face bottom-of-the-table Oxford Harlequins at Lily Hill on Saturday (kick off 2.15pm).