Despite running out as clear winners over a side that Bracknell struggled to beat at Cheltenham earlier in the season there was little to celebrate after a serious injury to the Old Patesians No 6 halted the game for nearly an hour just 2 minutes after kick off.

Whether the incident remained in the back of the player’s minds after the restart I couldn’t say but from a spectator’s point of view the injury seemed to overshadow the rest of the game and it was difficult to get too excited about the final result.

For the first time since early December there was no doubt about the condition of the pitch and the ideal playing conditions resulted in plenty of open attacking rugby from both sides but also saw some passages of error strewn play that made one wonder if the players heads were 100% on the game.

The game started in sombre mood with a minutes silence to remember former club captain and chairman Ted Dinning who passed away recently.

2 tries from back row scoring machine George Milligan and one from his
back row colleague Jonny Baugh, all ably converted by Ben Nowak took Bracknell to a 21 – 3 lead half an hour into the game but the remainder of the half seemed to be lost in the wilderness.

The scoring profile in second half was similar to the first with unanswered tries from Ian Burch, Ken Dowding and Joe Price in the 2nd, 6th and 13th minutes of the half with Ben Nowak missing just one conversion on the day – but that was to be it as far as scoring was concerned. Again, in a similar fashion to the first half, the second half dragged on a bit with no scores from either side in the last 25 minutes. Final score 40 – 3.

I don’t believe there was any lack of effort on the part of the players on either side and Bracknell reached 40 points for the fourth time in 6 games but any celebrations were muted as our thoughts returned to the injured player at the final whistle.

Our very best wishes go out to the player, his family and friends and everyone at Bracknell wishes him a speedy and full recovery.

Bracknell – Jonny Mirza, Stuart Silvester, Ken Dowding, Leo Bailey, Kenny Barry, Jonny Baugh, George Milligan, Nico Maybury (C), Lewis Franklin, Joe Price, Ian Burch, Ben Nowak, Chris Brember, Ben Yates, Stuart Mackay. Subs – Ollie Taylor, Matt Brambley, Andy Slade, Mark Ford

Pete’s Predictions

I can report that Lydney had yet another stern test of character in their latest trip to Devon shading Brixham by just 3 points with a win that takes their promotion beyond doubt.

Redingesians appeared to be struggling at half time at Weston-super-Mare but came through with another bonus point win to maintain an all-important 5 point gap with superior goal difference that means that there play-off aspirations could still survive a slip up in the remaining games. You may not think a slip up is likely but a Good Friday Bank Holiday game at Newton Abbot has banana skin written all over it. I’m really sticking my neck out here but I predict that if Redingensians next loss is not at Newton Abbot then it will be in the play offs.

Avonmouth Old Boys were the only side in the bottom four to pick up a win in their quest to stay in the league so they become this week’s side to be sniffing at the heels of Old Patesians who have only won once since Christmas and are slowly but surely slipping towards the relegation places.

Next week sees Bracknell travel to Old Centralians, the scene of an epic encounter last season that paved the way for Bracknell’s promotion as league winners. The two sides have fared very differently this season with Bracknell consistently in the top 3 and Old Cents permanently in the bottom 3 but no-one should underestimate the Gloucester side who will be fighting for league survival and have had a change in fortunes recently having picked the majority of their points since February and clawed their way of the bottom.

GO BRFC