Boret steers Bracknell home

Boret steers Bracknell home

Bracknell RFC U19s 24 Bicester

RFC U19s 13
A blistering second-half display ensured that Bracknell’s DHL Academy Colts maintained their 100 per cent OBB Division One record with another bonus-point win. But despite scoring four tries to one, the Lily Hill Park side will be thanking man-of-the-match Cameron Boret and scratching their heads over why it was such hard work.
Not that Bracknell mind hard work. Victory was eventually grasped by the solid graft of skipper Dan Gyles, Chris Preston and Luke Evans in the front row; by predatory raids from flankers Ben Thomas and Chris Griffiths, and lock James Spiller; and by dynamic, devastating ball carrying by second-row Jack Williams and the 6ft 4in James Wright at No 8 (and, yes, he has grown two inches since last week).
Bracknell dominated first-half possession and territory but a feisty Bicester side collected points every time they hit the home 22 and it was they who went in as surprise 12-11 leaders at the break. But it was diminutive fly-half puppet-master Boret who made the difference. Fresh from passing his driving test, he calmly steered the Green Machine home.
Right-wing Josh Lane had put the home side ahead with a try in the corner after just four minutes following a Boret chip-and-chase which turned Bicester on their heels and a series of slick offloads which meant the Oxfordshire outfit just ran out of tacklers.
Full-back Ben Blosse converted for his only success on a day when Bracknell threw away almost 20 kickable points. But Blosse’s trials from the tee did not undermine the rest of his game and, after Tom Cook sank a penalty for Bicester on 7 minutes for 7-3, it was Blosse who notched Bracknell’s second try following another monster break from the rumbustious Wright and a brilliant inside pass manufactured by Lane as he was tackled.
Unlike Bracknell, Bicester were hitting their penalties and Cook pulled the score back to 12-6 on 21 minutes.Cook was on target again for a conversion under the posts 10 minutes later as Bicester registered a try of their own. Bracknell failed to fell the full-back as he came inside and centre Dom Southey ran a devastating line to finish with aplomb.
Bracknell were a different prospect after half time as fantastic forward breaks from Williams then Preston down the right rocked Bicester before Dan Ryding, the equivalent of having a Ford Transit at inside centre, powered through for the third try. Scrum-half David Gaynor converted for 19-13 but he fared little better than Blosse with spot kicks after that.
Like Blosse though, Gaynor made hay where he could. He linked well with Wright and Boret and provided quicker ball at the breakdowns where Bicester had mined pure gold in first-half turnovers. But the win was never really sealed until Lane went over for his second try on 58 minutes to secure the four-try bonus point and leave the home side safe at 24-13.
Bracknell go into another home league encounter against Marlow next Sunday with their tails up and their injured flocking back to the colours. Returnee Stefan Rees, at centre, added real crispness to the distribution out wide and forward Oli Nixon, though rusty and apparently tackling from the Royal Ballet manual early on, soon got the taste for it and buried one ball carrier so deep you’d need an undertaker to retrieve him.
Thomas was inspirational again, combining bulldog tenacity with fox-like cunning to disrupt almost anything Bicester had going, while the second-half introductions of Tim Ryan and Russell Jackman helped to steady a wobbling Bracknell scrum.
Coach Martin Radford could not disguise his glee. “I was chuffed to bits about the way we managed the game after the break having been knocked off our stride by Bicester’s aggression around the breakdown. Boret, Gaynor and Wright ran proceedings and we scored four good tries, two of them from training-ground moves.”
Bicester Colts head coach Pete Bramley said: “We made silly mistakes in the first half. I felt we could have been double-figures down. But we tightened it up defensively and scrummaged really well against a Bracknell side that are strong and well-drilled with a really good wide game.” By David Ryan

SCORERS: Lane (try) 5-0, 4min; Blosse (con) 7-0, 4min; Cook (pen) 7-3, 7min; Blosse (try) 12-3, 18min; Cook (pen) 12-6, 21min; Southey (try) 12-11, 31min; Cook (con) 12-13, 32min; Ryding (try) 17-13, 39min; Gaynor (con) 19-13, 40min; Lane (try) 24-13, 58min.