Win over Windsor

The previous win against Maidenhead A team was a team effort topped off with some moments of brilliance. This time around it was a complete team effort that achieved the win.

It is fair to say however that with only 17 boys fit and available, we entered the game with fingers crossed that luck would remain on our side, and in the event it was only just a full XV that finished the game, so all 17 played a vital role in securing the win that takes them up to second place in the table with one game left to play. Two tries to one, was the result but there was so much more to the eventual scoreline than meets the eye, not least the excellent breakdown work of the Bracknell team who certainly controlled possession for a large part of the game, the strong scrum that led directly to the two home tries, and the rampant defence by the whole team that kept Windsor at bay until the very final play of the game.

The boys turned up bright and early (despite the clocks changing) to find the First Teams pre-match instructions from the previous day still on the changing room wall. Ignoring the rude bits, the reminders could have been made to measure for our team today, and provided very valid points of reference for them to take into the game.

Whether it made a difference is difficult to know but certainly the boys started on the front foot, right from the first whistle. After receiving the KO, a couple of probing attacks were repelled by Windsor and eventually Bracknell earned a scrum in midfield close to the left hand touchline.

With a rock-solid set piece delivery, Lewis and Joe set off down the blind side, creating an overlap for Toby who shot down the wing from around half way to open the scoring in the corner with barely a minute gone.

If this immediate score was to open the floodgates, then Windsor had other ideas. With a strong wind at their backs the Bracknell team camped in the Windsor half for most of the half, throwing everything they had at achieving a second score. Tim through the middle, Luke on a couple of occasions out wide, Joe again through the middle all made good breaks before being hauled down.

In the forwards, Ryan typically went close a couple of times, with Harvey and Fraser also having strong runs, and Harry proving very effective and driving the ball forward at regular intervals.

Finding kicking into the wind rather difficult, Windsor resorted to trying to run out of their territory, but found the forwards and backs of Bracknell in a very determined mood. The back row of Lewis, Harvey and Fraser were tackling everything around the fringes whilst the midfield of Oscar, Tim and Matt put enormous pressure on the Windsor runners, with Matt in particular putting in some very hefty defensive work.

In the wide areas, Toby added some stifling defence to his opening try, which kept the strong running Windsor winger perfectly shackled. Mid-way through the half, Toby was forced off the field due to an injury in a typically robust tackle. Alex, who had joined the fray as hooker and was working exceptionally well at the breakdown, was re-positioned onto the wing. With Daniel, Callum, Sam and Ollie rotating in the front row, the boys were managing to edge the scrums against a powerful Windsor pack, but a couple more injuries just before half time saw more shuffling with Lewis spending time on the wing and Sam into the back row.

5-0 at Half time, and Windsor had good reason to feel confident as the wind and driving rain was having an effect, and they had repelled a lot of Bracknell efforts. However the Bracknell boys were made of stern stuff, and the breakdown work and driving play of the forwards would be the way to maintain their grip on the game. As it happened, Windsor did attack harder, but the midfield defence stifled any quick ball to the backs, whilst the breakdown work of the home side stopped Windsor gaining momentum. The tackling by the whole team was superb, with the highlights being Theo’s try saving tackle on the right wing, and Harvey’s crunching covering tackle on the left wing.

With the commitment of both teams at 100%, the game remained in the balance. Whilst Windsor maintained most of the territory, Bracknell did their moments, with Harry continuing to drive powerfully through the middle and Lewis finding a lot of space with his runs, even flying up the pitch and even snaffling a quick throw in by Windsor at one point. With some 10 minutes remaining, Bracknell grabbed the deciding score with a try that summed up the whole performance.

With a mighty effort, the forwards won a Maidenhead scrum just inside the Bracknell half, the ball was fed quickly to Oscar who put Tim through a tiny gap, and with their first line defence breached, the ball was moved wide to winger Alex, who made good ground before off-loading to Theo who galloped down the touch line to score. A fine team try, just at the right time.

Windsor came back even more determined to pull back, and plenty more tackles were required – and delivered – by the home team. Eventually, after some concerted Windsor pressure, the line was broken, a very good conversion was kicked but it brought with it the final whistle. Windsor had their deserved score, and Bracknell had the hard-fought win.

Well done to both sets of boys for entertaining us all in a very evenly contested and highly committed game.