Eton Manor 13 - Bracknell 17

Having had a week off after defeat to Chichester, Bracknell welcomed Dan Ap Dafydd back into the starting line up while Chris Brember switched to the wing. In the pack Joe Pickett started at loose head while Lachlan Valentine moved to number eight.

Neither Bracknell nor Eton Manor had won a game in 2016 so the record book was going to be re-written whoever would be the eventual winners.

An unconverted Stuart 'Sly' Silvester try could not prevent an Eton Manor 13-5 half time lead in a scrappy half.

Bracknell responded to being down at half time by not conceding any second half points. A Chris Brember try together with a further Stuart Silvester try gave Bracknell a hard won 17-13 victory at full time.

Full time: Eton Manor 13 - Bracknell 17 (Points: Eton Manor 1 Bracknell 4)

The result means that Bracknell remain 11th in the league but have opened up a 20 point lead over 12th placed Gravesend.

Bracknell have another week off and are next in action on 19th March vs Wimbledon. Next Saturday both Six Nations games (including England v Wales at 4pm) will be shown at the clubhouse so please come down and enjoy the game at BRFC!

Bracknell: 1:Joe Pickett 2:Stuart Silvester 3:Jonny Mirza ( c ) 4:James Wright 5.Josh Kronman 6:George Milligan 7:Jamie Rudkin 8:Lachlan Valentine 9:Dan Ap Dafydd 10:Jack Conway 11:Ian Burch 12: Danz Faamatuainu 13:Neil Higgins 14:Chris Brember 15:Ben Yates Subs: Gareth Staples, Liam Goodison, George Elliot

Pete’s Predictions
As far as my predictions for this week’s games are concerned 6 out of 7 correct may seem pretty good but I got one very important result wrong. Some results are almost written in stone while when mid-table sides play each other the result could go either way; and to be honest, it has little impact on the final league placings. The difference between East Grinstead, menacingly placed in 3rd spot beating the league leaders as I predicted – or losing to the league leaders as actually happened is probably a promotion deciding result…..and that’s the one I got wrong!

Promotion candidates.
As I have mentioned more than once London Irish Wild Geese face a very tough run in to the end of the season with all their games against top half of the table opposition. Well, having beaten East Grinstead at East Grinstead their quest for top spot has, all of a sudden, become considerably more straightforward. The top four all remain within reach of either the automatic promotion spot or the playoff but the likelihood of Irish being one of those sides is now odds on.

Win of the week
Having predicted 6 of the 7 winners this week we’re in danger of having a shortlist of one. Wimbledon’s first win on the road since November was emphatic – but not unexpected. If Eton Manor had been able to hold on to their 13 – 5 half time lead against Bracknell, their maiden win at level 5 would have been a shoe in; but it wasn’t to be. So, this week, the side who beat Gravesend by 6 points, Wimbledon by 2 points, Bracknell by 3 points and Westcliff by 4 points manage to beat promotion contenders East Grinstead by a full 13 points away from home – win of the week goes to London Irish Wild Geese. Congratulations go their way for today’s result, but it’s just a tad too early to congratulate them on promotion.

Relegation worries.
The news that Eton Manor gained ground on the 2 sides immediately above them (they were the only side in the bottom 3 to gain a point) needs to be tempered by the fact that they are almost certainly relegated – even more certain than before. They are now in the position of needing rugby’s equivalent of snookers which means that they not only need to win all of their remaining fixtures (and that takes quite a stretch of the imagination) but if they do…..5 pointers all of them……they still need Bracknell to transgress league rules and be deducted points on a technicality….more than once!

So while we prepare to say goodbye to Eton Manor we hope that their time at level 5 has not all been doom and gloom. They will probably never forget the day they got promoted – even though they may want to forget most of the following season. Many sides drop straight back down after promotion but most become better sides for the experience. I’m sure all of us at Bracknell wish them well.

As far as the 2 remaining relegation places are concerned, before week 21 either Gravesend or Westcliff needed 16 points from the remaining 6 games to overhaul their nearest rivals Bracknell, but that has now moved on to 20 points from 5 games assuming Bracknell get nothing out of the rest of the season. If there’s little hope at least there is still pride to play for.

Next 'week’s fixtures
Having been close against Bracknell this week this must be Eton Manor’s last real chance to chalk up a win this season as they travel to fellow strugglers Westcliff.

Other than this, with the relegation places all but sorted we turn our attention to the top of the table.

After toppling 3rd place East Grinstead this week London Irish travel to play the new 3rd placed side, Westcombe Park – no-one said it would be easy. Westcombe Park, like Irish, have only lost at home once this season. It’s another nail-biter!

I would really like to go for 7 home wins and get 7 out of 7 but wouldn’t that be all too simple? Here we go with my predictions for week 22 in league fixture list order

Away win (just being honest – prove me wrong and I’ll be a happy man)
Home win
Home win
Home win
Home win
Home win
Home win

Go BRFC (and prove me wrong)