Composure + Confidence + Character = Champagne Rugby !

Last years trip to Fullerians had been a tough encounter in Watford's sheet rain and a gale force wind where Bracknell succumbed under the slenderest of margins.

Fast forward a season and Bracknell welcomed Fullerians to Lily Hill Park and to the hallowed surface normally reserved for the first team and rugby royalty. The sun shone and the boys shone back.

On Sunday 22 A team players took to the field and none looked out of place or overawed in any way. It was a lovely balance of established Bulls players getting down and dirty with some very talented Sharks players. A special mention first of all goes to Toby Hedley-Stevens who made his debut in the front row on a massive pitch and delivered in spades. His speed to the breakdown and engine throughout the game was evidence of one very fit and determined lad keen to impress. The desire to impress was a common theme across the team. His front row counterparts of Walford, Van Heerde and Mckinnon gave the (not insignificant) Fullerians opponents a torrid morning.

It was a game to ask for adaptability and flexibility in positions - and the lovely thing about the Bracknell boys is that they just get on with it. In the second row the physical presence of Phipps and Torr interchanged exquisitely with Taylor and Newman and still delivered the same power in the scrum and precision around the breakdown. It was this trust in the attacking systems and in their team mates that allowed our back rowers of Dimech, Butler, Wood, Drummie and the ever elusive Tom Day to control the game.

Sunday was a game of many tries - but interestingly none from the forwards on this occasion. The backs quite simply had a field day with the quality and quantity of ball they enjoyed from a rampant and dominant set of forwards. It was a classic case of forward graft leading to the Bracknell champagne rugby we all love.

Castle showed some outrageous impudence to pick up from a scrum and nip round the blindside to slide across the whitewash early on. It was an example of courage and confidence that would permeate the team for the next hour.

Alex Turton proved once again why his exciting talent will take him far in the game. This is a lad who is still learning his craft but turned heads and drew gasps with his 3 tries - all from further than 50 metres out - and all at speeds that would make Usain Bolt stand up and watch.

Not to be outdone at full back, James Williams showed more evidence of his afterburners and amazing change of pace leaving Fullerians players strewn in his wake.

To their credit there was fight from our opponents right to the end and they contributed massively with 2 well deserved tries. But the constant pressure from the slick hands and physical presence of Clough and Cato combined with the silky distribution from Johnson was just a bit too much to handle. Parker stretched his legs and took the outside track following a lovely offload from Jamie Brown. Then just in case the pitch one crowd had missed it he went for a carbon copy to secure his brace on the score sheet.

At the end Bracknell showed the way to play real percentage rugby with a massive overlap giving Mercer real reward for his continuous support all day.

On a personal note - As well as watching the boys play rugby with smiles it was also fantastic to see Tom back out on the pitch with a whistle in his mouth (albeit his body is probably telling him that he would’ve preferred a smaller pitch to cover !)

JC