Old Centralians 29 – 20 Bracknell

Having thumped CS Rugby in their first warm up match and then won comfortably against an East Grinstead side that has high hopes of promotion in the equivalent National 3 London and SE this season, Bracknell probably travelled to Old Centralians with the expectation of an away win that would get their season on a roll.

Having beaten Old Cents on their last 3 meetings, two of which were at Painswick Road the form book may well have agreed, but Old Cents are far more like the side that ended last season (P5 W4 L1) than the side that started it (P5 W0 L5). They already have as many league points now as they did after 9 games last season. Strange but true and well done to them!

With the home side playing down the slope they would have got on the scoreboard early on if only they had one but the referees notebook showed successful penalties on 3 minutes and 8 minutes and the first try after 10 minutes. Liam Hemming’s conversion and yet another penalty made it 4 out of 4 and a 16 – 0 lead after just 15 minutes.

At this point Bracknell had hardly touched the ball and when they did they were more likely to knock it on than pass it to someone in a green shirt.

As the away side found a touch more fluidity however, the remainder of the half was all Bracknell and there were glimpses of the side that finished third in the league last season. George Milligan scored his first try for Bracknell 1st XV…….with an 8 shirt on his back……and Bracknell debutant Owain Davies opened his account with the conversion. Something tells me he might be Welsh.

Another new face to Bracknell, George Owen, scored a well finished debut try in the corner after sustained pressure from the forwards and although Owain Davies missed the conversion from out wide he made amends with a thumping long range penalty with the last kick of the half to bring the score line to a more respectable 16 – 15.

Given the preceding 20 minutes there was yet again an expectation from the visiting team – and from me to be honest – that Bracknell would maintain the upper hand in the second half with the slope in their favour; but we already know what can happen to early season expectations.
Quite possibly to the surprise of everyone present – player and supporter – Bracknell’s next score would be from the last move of the game. By this time Old Cents had already scored a second half converted try and 2 more penalties to put themselves into a healthy lead

Bracknell’s second half faltered soon after it had started with a yellow card for another debutant Pete Austen and the wily Old Cents forwards took full advantage with a bit of typical Gloucester “stick it up your shirt” style play. A bit 1980’s but ruthlessly effective.

Bracknell were starved of possession for large periods of the second half and as is often the case, when they finally did get their hands on the ball they tried a bit too hard. They suffered yet another yellow card as Kim Plant took out his frustration on an Old Cents player right in front of a referee who was less observant when it came to the multiple indiscretions of the home side’s inside centre.

It was almost farcical in the last few minutes when Bracknell were first prevented from scoring because the ref didn’t think it was fair (not sure that’s in the laws) and then scored when it was all too late. The final conversion missed its target and along with it the hope of salvaging at least a point from the game. 29 – 20 the final score. The away side had outscored their opposition by 3 tries to 2 but left the field with nothing!

It’s probably fair to say that Bracknell missed their captain and talisman Nico Maybury at 8. Just one or two of his turnover creating big hits or powerful line breaks may well have been enough to give Bracknell the impetus they needed but that, like the predictions below, is just a mixture of wishful thinking and wild conjecture.

Bracknell – Jonny Mirza, Stuart Silvester(C), Ken Dowding, Ollie Taylor, Kim Plant, Leo Bailey, George Milligan, Pete Austen, Jack Conway, Daniel Antonelli, Ian Burch, Joe Price, Chris Brember, George Owen, Owain Davies. Subs – Matt Brambley, Giuseppe Sulstri , Stuart Mackay (all played)

Pete’s Predictions
Predictions at this stage of the season are bound to be a bit hit and miss but I’m confident that Bracknell will end up higher in the leagues that they are after this first game.

They will also not be the only side to be turned over by Old Centralians at Painswick Road.
Out of the 5 new sides in the league Exmouth and Oxford Harlequins look like sides to watch for and Bournemouth and Chard look like they need to watch out! Despite losing their first match at Newton Abbot, Hornets should not be discouraged – that’s a tough first fixture for anyone, particularly a newly promoted side

Old Redcliffians, who proudly held an unbeaten record until the penultimate game of last season, have a 100% home record of a different sort to contend with after losing to a Brixham side not known for their away form. Old Reds are one of only two sides who lost at home this week – the other being a Weston-super-Mare side that I fear for given their poor form towards the end of last season. So, just to make myself popular in Somerset, WSM are my first relegation candidates of the season. Apologies to them but what do I know anyway?

Promotion candidates? Exmouth and our old friends Redingensians – but anyone can see the top two sides in this week’s league table!

Next week is Bracknell’s first home match as they take on an Old Patesians side who have already got a win under their belts so please come on down to help the Bracknell boys get their season back on track. Kick-off is 3.00pm but is preceded by the 2013-14 Berkshire Vets Cup Final at 1.00pm as the Bulls (Bracknell) take on the Rhinos (Reading). Sounds a bit too Southern Hemisphere for my liking….

GO BRFC!!