This time around Bracknell fall just short

Last year https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/bracknell/j/match-centre-3373/0-1946015 saw Bracknell clinch the game with two tries in the last three minutes, and the same here would have again seen Bracknell take the game. Despite their best endeavours, they managed a try 3 minutes from the end and then some great pressure from the resultant re-start just about failed to get them over the line, and Bracknell fell short of achieving the repeat win.

Ultimately it was a fine game with some great play from both sides throughout; Bracknell raced into a two try head start, before Ealing came back with a rather annoying (from Bracknell’s perspective) spell of 4 (four!) tries in 7 (yes, seven!) minutes in the middle section, which saw us fall off from 12-0 up to 12-26 down! The purplest of purple patches from the home team was aided and abetted by some very lacklustre tackling from Bracknell, which was all the more frustrating as their defence up to that point and indeed from that point onwards, was excellent.

To the game itself, and right from the outset, it was clear that Ealing were a strong side, worked very well at the breakdown, and were keen and willing to run hard and straight. However, they found a very tough defence in front of them with Kai and Alex in the centre and Oakley on the wing in no mood to let the attackers past.

The backrow of Lewis, Adam and Matt also put in some typically big tackles as well as making a real nuisance of themselves over the ball. The opening try was started and finished by Toby (his first for the club); he made a great break out of his half and when he was hauled down, the Bracknell forwards arrived first, and rolled the ball on for a couple of phases before it was spread quickly to the right, and found Toby again to sprint past a couple of defenders to the corner.

For the first 10 minutes or so, Bracknell controlled the game excellently, with the forwards, Charlie and Kyle in particular, carrying the ball very well, and Josh and Joe at half back dictating where we played the game with their passing and kicking so it was no surprise then that Bracknell scored again, although the provenance of the try was a little unexpected. Deep in his own half, Adam found himself with turnover ball and typically ran straight, suddenly finding himself with clear air in front of him and just over half the pitch to run, approaching the opposition 22m line he found the opposition closing in on him, and with an expertly timed pass slipped the ball to the supporting Toby who coasted in under the posts. Joe added the 2 points.

Thereafter, a couple more chances came and went, in the face of some strong defence, and just after Oakley had made a try saving tackle on the line, and then the boys held up another attacker over the line, Ealing finally broke through after a series of penalties in front of the posts. Cue another 6 minutes of madness, with a combination of loose passes, missed tackles, and turnovers offered up, which saw Ealing score another 3 tries to race off into the distance.

Great credit then to the boys who roused themselves, charged back into the game, returned to their defensive best and started playing the game in the oppo 22. The forwards started laying the ball onto a plate for Josh, and Joe kicked very well to keep pushing Ealing back. With ball in hand, Matt made a sterling break of some 40m only to be hauled down inches from the line, Max drove close to the line, and Toby had another couple of chances to grab a hat-trick, and Ed also had a couple of lively bursts with the ball, so there was some relief when Theo pulled a try back. He fielded a loose kick into the centre of pitch and proceeded to bound his way through what appeared to be most of the Ealing team to score from some 30m out. Shortly after, the forwards maintained a series of drives at the Ealing line and were rewarded when Lewis managed to dot the ball down despite the attentions of several Ealing players.

With about 15 minutes to go Ealing scored their fifth try and thereafter, following some great defensive work in the face of a series of 5m attacking scrums, Bracknell started to gain the ascendency for the remainder of the game. With both teams tiring , Bracknell kept their composure and were denied twice more as they were firstly held up on the line, and then following a blind side attack, Toby was just squeezed into touch.

Eventually though the try came after a series of movements from side to side, the home team ran out of defensive cover and Theo scored his second and the team’s final try.

Ultimately then 5 tries apiece, with a hugely improved performance from the previous two weeks, against arguably the strongest team we have played thus far. Great facilities, great hosts, great opposition and even a great ref!