There were a few first’s at the SGS WISE Campus in Stoke Gifford on the outskirts of Bristol this weekend. It was the first time that Avonmouth Old Boys ('AOB') had hosted Bracknell RFC in league rugby; it was the first time that AOB had ventured away from their home ground at Barracks Lane for a home fixture and it was the first time that either side had played on an artificial pitch – the beautifully flat and level, but slightly dimly lit outdoor G3+ Astro Turf pitch at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College.

Whether it was thought that a spirited and aggressive AOB side with a couple of new players making home debuts might benefit from a good playing surface, whether it was thought that the unusual surroundings might catch the higher placed Bracknell side off guard or whether it was simply the desire to play rugby on a Saturday afternoon come what may, credit should be given to AOB for shelling out for the alternative venue to ensure that the game went ahead when only one other venue was playable in this league west of Berkshire

Whatever the reasoning it was the Bristol side that made the most of the first quarter despite playing into a stiff south westerly. In the opening minutes Bracknell threw the ball around and forced an early penalty but AOB had the best on the next 20 minutes. Phase after phase AOB’s forwards ran at pace and held onto flat passes to break the gain line and inch forward into opposition territory. Their efforts were rewarded when a penalty was taken quickly by home debutant Eamonn Rees who broke several tackles to score close enough to the posts to be able to convert his own try into the stiff breeze. 7 – 3.

It is often the case that when a side has the wind behind them they tend to kick possession away. On two occasions in the first half when he had the opportunity to kick Bracknell into “kill zone” lineout positions Liam Prescott was guilty of over doing his line kicks and propelling them beyond the dead ball line. To make amends however, he was unerring in his place kicking and 3 from 3 took Bracknell into a slender lead at half time, albeit when the elements had been in their favour. 7 – 9.

Avonmouth Old Boys or ‘mouth as their supporters like to call them, probably felt that they had done a reasonable job in the first half to hold the visitors who are 9 places above them to within 2 points. Had they known that they were destined to be pointless in the second half however, some of ‘mouths more loquacious mouths on the side-line may have been less vociferous.

Bracknell scored a try within minutes of the restart thanks to Stuart Silvester to take the score to 7 – 14 but the over exuberance of the home sides repost lead to a red card that would limit their ability to improve on the losing bonus point that appeared to be in the bag for the majority of the second half.

Not only could they not improve on it but the bonus point that would have meant a great deal in their battle against relegation slipped from their grasp in the dying seconds. A series of hard fought phases involving replacement prop Ken Dowding on several occasions took Bracknell into the opposition 22 and after one final charge a deft Ken Dowding offload saw the straight running Chris Brember cross the line. The beautifully struck conversion held its path against the wind and took Liam Prescott’s tally to a notable 4 from 5 considering the conditions and the final score to 7 – 21.

At the end of a week where the game was always in doubt, the kick off time delayed, the pitch a potential distraction and the lighting less than prefect Bracknell chalked up an away win that could never have been taken for granted – so well done the boys!

Bracknell – Jonny Mirza, Stuart Silvester, Jack Petelo, Matt Brambley, Ollie Taylor, George Milligan, Jonny Baugh, Nico Maybury (C), Daniel Ap Dafydd, Daniel Antonelli, Ian Burch, Joe Price, Ben Nowak, Stuart Mackay, Liam Prescott. Subs – Ken Dowding, Josh Webb, Chris Brember

Pete’s Predictions

Only 4 games were played in our league this week due to the atrocious weather but the top of the table clash was one of them. With Redingensians securing 3 points by sharing the spoils in a high scoring game against runaway leaders Lydney and our failure to take a full five points against a side at the lower end of the table our quest for a playoff spot becomes just that little bit more difficult.

There are opportunities for the Rams to slip up but we don’t have the easiest of run ins ourselves. With 6 of our 10 remaining fixtures being away from home we need to beat the odds to be in with a shout of second spot.

For what it is worth I don’t see the top 3 or bottom 3 changing – but who knows….

Next week Bracknell welcomes Barnstaple to Lily Hill Park for only their second game this year. On one hand they may be a bit rusty but on the other hand they may be well rested. One thing is for sure – in their last game they secured 5 league points against Avonmouth Old Boys while this weekend we took just 4. Game on

Please find the time to come down to Lily Hill and help support Bracknell RFC.

GO BRFC!