You have to go all the back to the 11th October to find Bracknell’s one and only home defeat of the season so far. Like Brixham did yesterday, many of the sides have travelled to Lily Hill Park fancying their chances only to go away disappointed so this is a run that Bracknell have good reason to be proud of.

Brixham came out strongly and had the better of the first half although it was Bracknell who took the early lead. A penalty by George Owen was soon cancelled out by a penalty in reply from Brixham but that was soon followed by an interception on half way by Ian Burch who raced untouched under the posts to make George Owens conversion an easy one. With just over 10 minutes played and despite having had the lion’s share of the early possession Brixham they found themselves trailing 10-3.

Brixham continued to dominate the game and it wasn’t long before this was reflected on the score board. A text book catch at 4 and drive from the back of the line saw 3 Brixham players stroll the last 5 metres almost untouched for an unnervingly simple looking try. With the conversion missed Bracknell lead was cut to 10-8.

Just 5 minutes later Brixham crossed the line yet again this time through their winger and things were looking a bit ominous for the home side. Yet another missed conversion meant that Brixham’s lead was only two points but with 2 tries in 5 minutes the way they had turned around Bracknell’s rather fortunate early lead was a worry. 10-13.

The remaining 20 minutes of the first half saw no change in the score but Brixham continued to have the upper hand. A couple of attempts fell just short and Bracknell may well have been relieved to hear the half time whistle.

Last week at Bournemouth Rory Greenslade Jones’ half time team talk worked wonders as Bracknell came out in the second half and played like a different side. In the second half at Bournemouth, Bracknell turned the game around, bettered the opposition in possession, territory and points to win a hard fought and well-earned victory. Well, you could be forgiven for thinking that Rory recorded last week’s halt time team talk and simply replayed it to the players this week because exactly the same thing happened.

Bracknell dominated the second half and up until the very last move of the game Brixham didn’t really get a look in. A penalty by George Owen levelled the scores at 13-13. A try by George Owen went unconverted to take a lead of 18 -13 and then 10 minutes later a forwards drive rolled Brixham back across their own line with Stuart Silvester getting the touch down. George Owen added the extra points with a soccer style shot that flashed over the cross bar and took the score to 25-13.

Being two scores ahead – and with the minutes ticking away so that the chances of a Brixham comeback changed from unlikely to very unlikely – allowed the home supporters to relax a bit. Unfortunately, this may also have been the case on the pitch as well. In the very last move of the game Bracknell’s concentration slipped and a missed tackle was all Brixham needed to grab a last ditch bonus point. All in all however, Bracknell fully deserved their win and as a result swapped places with Brixham in the table and Bracknell find themselves in 3rd place – I think for the very first time this season

Final score Bracknell 25 – Brixham 20 (Bracknell 4 points – Brixham 1 point)

Bracknell – Matt Brambley, Pete Austin, Jonny Mirza, Leo Bailey, Ollie Taylor, Giuseppe Salustri, George Milligan (C), Michael Clarke, Daniel Ap Dafydd, Rob Smart, George Owen, Ben Nowak, Chris Brember, Ian Burch, Stuart Mackay. Subs – Kenny Barry, Stuart Silvester, Jack Conway

Pete’s Predictions

Promotion candidates. As predicted Redingensians got more out of their trip to Gloucestershire than Exmouth did and much to ‘Gensians relief I imagine there’s breathing space at the top again. I don’t think Exmouth’s play-off spot is in jeopardy but they can’t yet take anything for granted. Just assuming Exmouth lose at Redingensians they could have either Bracknell, Brixham or Hornets snapping at their heels but I can’t see where they could lose a second game in the run in

Win of the week. Yet again, Barnstaple deserve a mention for a good win on the road at Newton Abbot. Barnstaple are certainly not the pushovers they were at the beginning of the season but there’s also a suspicion that with little to play for in the league Newton Abbot might have had half an eye on the Devon Cup Final they are hosting in 2 weeks’ time. Win of the week therefore goes to Old Centralians for their defeat of high flying Exmouth. When Bracknell lost at Old Cents in the opening game of the season I predicted that Bracknell would not be the only side to lose there and you don’t get much better that beating the side in 2nd spot. That new score board has witnessed some moments to savour.

Relegation worries. There was yet another hint at who might join Chard and Weston-super-Mare in the drop when, as predicted, Oxford Harlequins lost at home to Old Reds. This was the second 10-pointer in a row where Quins have failed to beat sides close to them in the relegation battle.

Next week’s fixtures . Oxford Harlequins need to get some points at W-s-M next week to try to close the gap on Old Reds and Old Pats who are unlikely to pick up points at Redingensians and Exmouth.
Brixham will be tested again when host Hornets just a week ahead of their appearance in the Devon Cup Final. A draw would suit Bracknell nicely but that might be a bit much to wish for. My guess is that Brixham will hold out at home.

There are no 6 Nations games next week so Bracknell’s travelling supporters have no excuse not to head west again for Bracknell’s first ever trip to Chard. It’s difficult to see anything but an away 5 pointer but Bracknell must stay focused and avoid complacency if they are to consolidate their position in 3rd.

GO BRFC