Hungerford 2nd XV 0 - 36 Bracknell 3rd XV

BBO Division 3 League

Hungerford 2nd XV 0 - 36 Bracknell 3rd XV

With fixtures being cancelled county wide the Mighty 3's travelled with some surprise to West Berkshire and one of the most hospitable rugby clubs around. Hungerford, with its roaring fire, welcoming members, and great food is always a trip to enjoy.

The playing surface was playable, just, but perhaps suggested a stuttering error strewn game lay ahead. Yes mistakes were made, but Bracknell overcame the conditions with aplomb, at times playing a 15 man game with superb command of the core skills required on wet, slippery and deteriorating surface.

Player coach Dan 'Gylo' Gyles has been working hard to install some structure, games awareness and decision making into this emerging group of players, supplemented by some old heads. It was structure and command of the basics that won the day.

Playing up the hill in the first half The Mighty 3's, controlled procession and the game from the start, with the forward pack dominating the contact area. Sam Brian and Gylo lead from the front carrying the ball around the fringes, whilst Mike Eastwell and Ni 'The Boot' All crashed in to the Hungerford midfield making ground and creating a target for their forwards.

It was clear early on, that playing beyond 2 phases would create the space for the electric Dan Borthwick to exploit the wider channels supported well by his wingers, Nathan Reed and Stuart Green. The Hungerford defensive line was constantly being stretched, and their 'bulky midfield' struggled to cope. A Bracknell score seemed inevitable.

On 12 minutes, Hungerford kicked long to clear their lines, only to see Dan Borthwick run the ball back, his kick ahead was knocked on. The referee, seeing the Bracknell kick chase was good played an excellent advantage and Bracknell claimed the loose ball. The ball was recycled, and moved to the right through multiple phases, resulting in Nathan Reed finishing strongly in the corner.

On 18 minutes, Bracknell exploited a centre field scrum, some 60m out. Michael Jones, picked from the base and attacked right, feeding Henry Williams who was on the charge. Henry glided past the cover defence on the slippery surface like a Norwegian speed skater , but was scragged just short of the line. Offloading was like passing a bar of soap in the showers, but Henry managed it perfectly to the supporting Dan Borthwick who scored under the sticks.

Soon after, Michael Jones had to leave the field with a head injury, replaced by Bracknell's very own mud wrestling expert Dave Rosi, his stage was set His impact was immediate, playing a part in the 3rd try. Again the Mighty 3's exploited the blindside of a central scrum with a expertly executed and classic 8, 9, 15 pick and go. With superb lines of running to pin the Hungerford defenders, and slick passing Mike Eastwell completed the move and scored wide out.

Bracknell's forward dominance continued, with a push over try for Dave Rosi. As always, the front 5, of Ledger, Lee, Gyles, Munroe and Brian must take enormous credit for this score on a surface that was becoming as unplayable as Gary Glitters back catalogue.

Bracknell had to finish the half with 14 men when John Boucher was yellow carded, apparently for complaining that the referees white shirt was dirtier than his! This advantage seemed to enliven Hungerford for what was the home teams best spell of the match, battering the Bracknell line. The physicality of the Bracknell defence was too strong, as it had been throughout, and eventually this short spell of ascendancy was snuffed out with some aggressive, uncompromising defence from the Bracknell 14.

The Mighty 3's turned around with a 3 try advantage, but the break didn't do either side any favours. The first 10 minutes of the half proved fruitless for both sides, as they tried to generate some heat in the driving rain. Ben Radford replaced 'Boucher the clean' at 10, and Devan Green was on for the illusive and free running Dan Borthwick at 15 and they were shortly joined by a couple youngsters Rob Wright and Jamie Jones for the final 25 minutes.

The game had stalled, but came alive on 60 minutes when Henry Williams snapped up a loose ball in his own half, and again sliced open the Hungerford defence some of whom resembled Bambi on ice as he glided through to score under the posts.

This score seemed to re-energise The Mighty 3's who found their form once again, building phases and troubling Hungerford continually. To the home teams credit, they rose to the challenge, and made Bracknell work hard for their final score.

Andrew Oliver and Matt Kingston had been ever presents at the breakdown and in defence, as you would expect of your 6 & 7. The experience of Munroe, Ledger and Rosi became the glue that held the performance together as the conditions deteriorated. Rob Wrights carrying around the fringes bust some holes and Jamie Jones looked the live wire he is when released in to space. Bradley Walters came on for Matt Kingston who'd put in an excellent shift.

Bracknell efforts in the final quarter were rewarded, when changing the point of attack left then right, with some direct rugby at close quarters, the Hungerford defence finally broke. Bradley Walters gambled with an audacious dummy, with Jamie Jones free and outside him. The dummy was bought, the line broken. Tackled short, Bradley offloaded to Sam Brain to score the final points of the day.

The highlight of the final 10 minutes was watching the Hungerford replacement being dressed by 4 of his team mates, so tight was the shirt, or was it the width of his gut? To be fair to him, he had just played 80 minutes for the 1st XV, a true clubman.

This was a very satisfying result. To score 6 unanswered tries in atrocious conditions must be seen as an excellent performance. The nature of the play, individually and as a team, was great to see, especially as the error count was so low.

Henry Williams who's distribution from the base and free running in these conditions deserved the accolade of Man of the Match. There was only one candidate for Dick of the Day!

Great performance guys, and a suburb start to 2016.