Staines Submerged ...

It was all change for Bracknell Bulls today. Farnborough pulled out at late notice so Staines were gracious enough to make the trip up the A30 to the oasis of tranquillity that is Calfridus. Moreover County duty took a large number of the Bulls contingent allowing lots of the boys new opportunity to show the coaches and peers what they were made of in Bracknell’s premier XV.

Although they were tight on numbers (necessitating some lending and borrowing)…..There were some seriously big lads in the Staines team. They would have made significant dents in a number of defences. Step forward Ryan Phipps and Ben Torr who stood like a solid brick wall in the face of any charges. Spectators could feel the force of Ryan’s contact from the touch line and it was a joy to behold their physical presence. The sheer commitment meant ball was spilled frequently in contact. If it wasn’t spilled our specialist burglars of Dimech and Van Heerde were in there slowing ball, nicking ball and generally scooping up scraps to feed the scrum half. Ben, playing as second row today, turned from enforcer to deliverer as he crossed the whitewash for a lovely score too.

Jamie Brown,as always, distributed excellently for Ewan Castle to have a great platform upon which to unleash the backs. His game management was sound and the plethora of planned runners off 10 gave options galore for Bracknell to attack from either from set piece or from quick penalties. James Williams had a simple brief today at Full Back - be unpredictable in attack and go looking for the ball at every opportunity. He popped up between the half backs, the centres and on the outside. He was duly rewarded with 2 great scores, the second off Ewan’s inside pass being the pick of the day’s tries. It was lovely to see him free and running wild.

Sam Faulkner ran hard and straight at inside centre and crossed the gain line at every attempt. His ability to suck players in and offload to his outside centre saw 2 great finishes for Toby Parker - who is on a current rich vein of try scoring form. When wingers Matty Bowers and Oakley Drummie got the ball they showed great pace, elusiveness and confidence in backing themselves and making good ground. And these 2 boys can seriously tackle too !

Breakdown work was generally pretty good . Although there were a few lapses in discipline early in the second half the boys fixed it quickly. The galloping of our own gazelle Tom Day was seen once again on the Calfridus turf, frequently offloading to supporting players and scoring one of his own in the process. Lewis Newman also took advantage of this strong go forward overlapping fantastically to score in the corner in Richie Mccaw fashion.

There was also great opportunity for a number of other boys today. Josh Elsey came in a gave a really solid display at 9. It was this strength in depth that allowed us to give Jamie an enjoyable run in the centre - and a view further away from the action ! Fraser Wood also showed me that he had the potential to be a really sound player. His scanning of the game was exquisite - and the period for which loaned him to Staines, he created us some real problems. Ollie Gilman came in at prop - playing a role on both teams as it turned out - and was in no way overawed by the experience. In fact the front row combinations of Mckinnon, Walford and MvH were immensely strong in the scrum causing the referee to request the push be held several times. Walford even had a run with ball in hands up the wing. Who says props are slow ?

So on to the versatility aspect. 10 of the boys were asked to play out of position today - or to play somewhere new. The fact that they embraced it with such aplomb and big smiles is a credit to their core skills and confidence. Staines kept fighting right to the end and slowed down the scoring significantly in the second half. They had some really good players - but not enough quality in enough positions to make a difference to the Bracknell team.

The final score was 47-5 with James Williams adding the extras to the tries. I asked a number of boys - Lewis, Fraser, Ollie, Ieuan, Sam Watson, Ed Hartless to play bit part roles for Staines to allow us to have a meaningful contest. I’d like to thank all these boys. No one wants to do it - but rest assured I learned massively from seeing your spirited contribution against your team mates.

A final word for Kyle. Quiet as ever - he stepped up and played in the front row for Bracknell Bulls in the first half - like he played there every week - and was incredibly strong and focussed. At half time I asked him to prop for the opposition - and to play with the same passion he had just displayed. He clearly took my words to heart - and to my surprise from the back of a breakdown I see his frame ( in a Staines shirt) stoop to pick up the ball and run in a try hard and low in the corner. A lovely moment which will no doubt be revisited on tour - but Bracknell still scored all the points !

Thanks boys. A good mornings work.

JC