Bracknell 31– 37 Exmouth

Anyone who was not at the game might be excused for thinking that the score line was the end result of a nip and tuck sort of game where the lead changed constantly and the winner was always in doubt until the final whistle blew. To be honest, that would be a long way from the truth.
Exmouth, who partly due to Bracknell’s excursion to London leagues and partly due to Exmouth’s promotion to level 4 have not been to Lily Hill Park since the 2008/9 season - took the lead after 2 minutes with a penalty, added another 10 minutes later, scored their first try a few minutes after that and then added a second try a little more than half way through the first half. With 23 minutes gone it had all the hallmarks of a drubbing at 0 -18.

Bracknell played their part in the game but also played a part in their own downfall. While the home side threw balls wide and far in frenetic passages of play that more often than not ended with an error or a turnover the opposition were more composed, precise and clinical. Exmouth had no stand out stars but did everything well

Bracknell’s first score came in the 32nd minute with a try and conversion by George Owen and although you have to look a long way back in the records to find a game where Bracknell had nothing to show for their first half hour, the try at least gave them hope. Half time 7 – 18.
Whatever hope that was seemed to fade away soon after the restart as Exmouth added 2 more tries and seemingly a bonus point win – all within the third quarter of the game. 60 minutes gone 7 -30.

It’s quite possible that Exmouth took their foot off the gas at this point because the win and the bonus point were in the bag so what else mattered? Whatever happened, to the home side’s credit, they fought back to win the last 20 minutes by 24 points to 7 and as a result clocked up a try bonus point, a losing bonus point and – from the number of penalties conceded by Exmouth in the last quarter – rattled the visitors in the process.

Tries by Joe Price, two from George Owen and one from Stuart Silvester brought the deficit to just 6 points but, while the comeback was impressive and gave the home supporters something to cheer and the players something to build on next week it was all a bit too late and Exmouth’s lead was never really in question.

Given their fruitless first half hour Bracknell had a right to be happy with 2 points from the game while Exmouth were able to take 5 points away with them and celebrate 6 wins from 6 and retention of top spot in the league on the long trip back home to South Devon.

Special thanks must be given to Daniel Antonelli after what is likely to be have been his last game for Bracknell as he goes to follow a fantastic career opportunity and seek his fortune in Dubai. There’s certainly a fortune out there so let’s hope there’s one for you. Dan has dominated the 10 shirt at Bracknell for 4 or 5 seasons and has been ever-present under Rory’s very successful tenure as coach so on behalf of Bracknell’s supporters we wish him the very best of luck in his new venture and hope that he comes back to see us at every opportunity.

Bracknell – Jonny Mirza, Stuart Silvester, Ken Dowding , Kim Plant, Kenny Barry, Leo Bailey, George Milligan (C), Nico Maybury, Jack Conway, Daniel Antonelli, Ian Burch, Joe Price, Vasa Bai, George Owen, Stuart Mackay. Subs – Matt Brambley, Ben Yates, Giuseppe Salustri (all played)

Pete’s Predictions
There were a couple of significant results at the top of the league this week and while Exmouth’s win at Bracknell leaves them as the only unbeaten side and so the likelihood of them bouncing straight back up to level 4 is still very much on the cards Hornets show that consecutive promotions are not beyond possibility after beating Redingensians. Win of the week has to be Hornets.

Bracknell’s prospects of making a promotion challenge have suffered a setback so they need to start grinding out results over the coming weeks to stay in touch with the leaders so that they have the chance to reverse the recent losses in January and regain ground. Even though it now looks like they may not be title contenders I see them finishing higher than they are today
Old Cents christened their new “state of the art” scoreboard in fine style to maintain their unbeaten home record with a win over Old Reds whose result was matched (rather spookily) for the 6th time in a row by Weston-super-Mare. It’s no surprise that the two sides are next to each other in the table and the only thing that separates them is Weston’s inferior point’s difference due to their poor showing against Exmouth in their opening game

Relegation worries? Chard need to find something soon while Old Reds and Weston have only picked up a point apiece in the last 4 games so they all find themselves under pressure
Next week’s stand out fixture is Exmouth v Hornets which looks too close to call but could see a change at the top of the table

Bracknell take the long trip to Barnstaple whose form suggests that they would be more than happy to see a repeat last year’s draw but Bracknell need to be more positive and seize the opportunity to get back to winning ways. It’s a long way to travel but your support in North Devon would be much appreciated.

GO BRFC