The U14 return match against Winchester was always going to be a tough run out with both teams having improved since the first day of the season. Bracknell travelled with a number of changes due to injuries and general lack of availability. So with no subs, several boys stepping up from the Devs and players out of position, Bracknell struggled to adjust and soon went down to a brace of tries from the Winchester flying back line.

It took the boys 20 minutes to get a foothold but after conceding 4 tries early on, they fought back well. Some good progress from the forwards, particularly George W and Will saw Bracknell competing and challenging and on the stroke of half time, Max W got the ball to Braxton out wide who went over to score. Great character from the boys.

The second half saw Bracknell compete for the first 15 minutes and the game was much closer. Winchester kept coming and as Bracknell tired (we did have a couple of subs from the Devs team who had already played) , the home team scored a flurry of tries at the end to make the score look much bigger than the game reflected.

In truth, Winchester set the bar and were as good as we’ve played but would have been much closer with a full strength squad. The boys will learn from these games so credit to all of them for staying in the game. On to the next one, taking the learnings