Hard fought victory over Reading

Now that's a monkey off our backs!

Great rivalries make great teams and, in Berkshire rugby circles, surely no rivalry can be as intense as that between Bracknell RFC and Reading RFC.

Off the pitch, there is great respect and deep comradery between the coaches, the parents and the players, many of whom are team-mates in the Berkshire county squad and friends off the pitch. On the pitch, however, both teams seem to grow and extra arm and a leg when it comes to derby matches between the two clubs. From the age of seven, young Bracknell lads are brought up to regard victories against Reading as extra-special and I am told the same is true for young Reading players in their earliest days as rugby players.

It was thus against this background that we turned up at Reading RFC on Saturday fresh from a satisfying win against Newbury RFC the weekend before, with a full complement of fighting fit players, with the notable exception of blind-side destroyer-in-chief Kane O'Leary serving a 21 stand down for a concussion earned in the line of duty. If ever there was going to be a time when we would beat Reading on their own pitch, it was today. We knew it and they knew it. It was going to be an epic encounter.

Reading RFC U14's are a mercurial lot. Packed with talented players, many of them with their county colours, they have the ability to smash the best sides to pieces on their day while but when not in the mood, giving it away to far less capable opposition. Maddeningly, they reserve their best performances for their matches against us and have, on many occasions, torn up the form book and dumped us on our collective bums. Last season's league match against Reading was just such an occasion, and having absolutely dismantled the hard-as-nails Redingensians the week before our fixture, they were in fantastic form.

Once again, our game plan was simple - smash it up using our heavier pack and wait for opportunities to get the ball quickly through the hands and attack the outside channels as soon as the defence looked a bit narrow.

To their credit, the Reading pack, out-weighed and outgunned, stood up to the challenge and despite taking a fearsome beating at the breakdown and in the set pieces, fought like men possessed and every inch we made up the pitch was subject to a heavy price in sweat and toil. Our big runners off nine and ten were met with resolute defence around the fringes of the ruck, and with the referee like a child with a brand new whistle for Christmas at the breakdown, we were just not getting the quick ball that would allow us to run our attacking systems and for the early period of the match, we lacked any kind of penetration whatsoever.

Reading, on the other hand, were making excellent use of the numerous penalties going their way and their big strike runners were testing our defence to breaking point. Our centres Sam Faulkner and Sam Clough worked like Trojans, closing down the space and making tackle after tackle without fail, while fullback JJ Paling covered the outside channels, scything down any green and white hooped flyers that came his way. It was trench warfare but something had to give.

In the end it was a careless Reading pass that was snatched up and intercepted by Bracknell winger Alex MacDonald on our 10-yard line which gave rise to a 60-yard foot-race with the opposition winger. The whole crowd watched the action, seemingly unfolding in slow motion, as the two young men strove their way up the park. It was a near thing but when Alex made it to the line and scored, the Bracknell half of the crown went wild. Matthew Dalrymple stepped up and made the conversion, score 7-0.

The score settled the Bracknell boys down a bit and some really nice constructive play saw us getting into our usual pattern of patient phase play and clever game management. Jamie Brown's service was stellar, allowing fly half Matthew Dalrymple to keep the ball in front of the pack as we slowly made our way up the pitch. Some excellent short range work by the forwards and some quick rucking got the ball out to winger Alex MacDonald who tiptoed round the outside for his second in the corner, score 12-0. The rest of the first half saw us pressurising the Reading defence without reward as whenever we gained any momentum, we gave away a penalty for something or other and had to start again 30 yards back but we managed to keep the ball for much of the time, defended well and Reading we not able to open their account.

The second half started much like the first - us defending and giving away penalty after penalty and as hard as we tried to put phases together and work our way up the pitch, we struggled to do so and the game slowed down into a series of set pieces and mauls. The Reading scrum, under pressure for much of the first half, showed massive courage and resolution in the second half of the game and were able to get ball away to their backs, but our defence was equal to the task. The lineouts were dominated by Alexander Robinson, but we were able to capitalise as we normally do due to the tenacious work-rate of the Reading loose-forwards.

As our forwards tired, the game opened up and the powerful Reading backline started to dominate the match, with strike runners Josh Smart and Tom Gayter proving very difficult to contain. Josh, particularly, was beginning to make bust after bust in midfield, stretching our defence to the limit and beyond and it was only a matter of time before Tom was able to break free from a tackle and go round the outside for Readings first try with about five minutes left on the clock. Billy Dainton smashed a brilliant conversion to bring the score to12-7.

What remained was the longest period of rugby in my coaching career as Reading ran wave after wave of attacks at us, with the Bracknell lads out on their feet. Somehow, we dug deep and hung on and when the final whistle blew, we had done it, and got the win that we so badly wanted.

Immediately though, our first thought was for our opponents. They had played their hearts out and with the match over, it was time to pay respects to our closest rivals. Hands were shaken and there were more than a few hugs between lads who just second before had been knocking lumps out of each other. It had been an epic contest, and while we had emerged with the win, we were under no illusion as to how easily it could have been us on the wrong end of the result.

Many thanks to the Reading players, coaches and the club for hosting us and for such an unbelievable game of rugby. We look forward to having you back at ours in a few weeks' time for the return leg and no doubt, another monumental contest between two great rivals!