Bracknell’s seven deadly minutes

Bracknell’s seven deadly minutes

Maidenhead RFC Colts 5 v Bracknell RFC Colts 26

Table-topping Bracknell Colts continued their 100 per cent record in the Oxford, Berks & Bucks League Division One with a fourth straight bonus-point win to keep the pressure on the chasing pack.
Maidenhead mounted a brave effort to stop their local rivals from rumbling over them on their home patch, but they were simply brushed aside in seven deadly minutes as Bracknell racked up four tries, 26 points, and had the scoreboard spinning like a slot machine.
The Lily Hill side had struggled against a headwind and driving rain and it took them 17 minutes to launch their first real attack as centre Dan Ryding, running a perfect line, burst on to the ball and clear into space. He broke the first tackle but was halted by the second.
Bracknell’s early attempts to spin the ball wide were doomed as the weather went from poor to atrocious. They got a nasty scare when full-back Ben Blosse fumbled the wet ball and was enveloped behind his own try line but Maidenhead knocked-on as they scored.
Only in the final 10 minutes of the half did Bracknell make a real impact, by keeping the ball tight and making slow, hard, muddy yards through the pack; a game at which skipper and man-of-the-match Dan Gyles excelled along with Chris Preston, James Wright, Tim Ryan and James Spiller.
Bracknell finally wore Maidenhead down on 34 minutes as loose-forward Wright crashed over in the right corner for 5-0. Blosse brushed the wrong side of the post with his conversion kick but it was a precious lead to take into half time.
Any hope Maidenhead had vanished at the restart, along with the dark clouds and Cumbrian-style rainfall, as the sun peeped out and Bracknell ran amok in the mud.
Within a minute of the restart, No 8 Jack Williams broke off the back of a midfield scrum and fed Ryding who hit the pass at pace and punched another huge hole. He was held for long enough for defensive support to arrive, but then Ryding turned in the tackle and spun clear to score under the posts for 10-0, against all the odds and three Maidenhead tacklers.
Blosse’s boot brought up the extra two points for 12-0 before Bracknell scored again almost straight from the kick-off. Williams broke free, yet again, to feed fly-half Conor Sawdon, whose quick hands sent the ball wide; Blosse made a fantastic break before off-loading to left-wing Nathan Mannering and his chip ahead was chased by forwards Gyles and Ben Thomas. Thomas won that race to ground the ball for a 17-0 lead, which Blosse’s third conversion took to 19-0.
Maidenhead were still reeling as right-wing Josh Lane made huge ground before almost putting Ryding in to score on 39 minutes. However, Bracknell didn’t have to wait long as Williams broke off the back of a scrum to score from close range and secure the four-try bonus point with the half just six minutes old.
Blosse, whose place-kicking had clearly recovered after a rocky couple of weeks, sunk the conversion for 26-0 and Bracknell were home, if not dry.
Bracknell did switch off briefly as DHL Academy Coach Martin Radford began to filter substitutes into the pack but it was a midfield turnover that saw centre Chris Heley set up Jamie Townsend for the home side’s only score, a try in the right corner after 48 minutes.
However, Bracknell were able to see out the game in relative comfort, and even threatened a fifth try just minutes from time as substitute Tim MacNaughton broke up the right and chipped and chased into the corner. Alas it was not to be.
Coach Radford said: “We had to fight against some awful conditions but we always looked the better side with ball in hand. Our plan was always to stick it out for the first half against the wind, rain, and slope, then kick on. So I was delighted we were ahead at the break”.
He will also be pleased that Newbury’s 18-5 win over Marlow came without a bonus point.
Maidenhead Colts coach, Frank Manning, said: “This is a very young team but they stuck at it really well until Bracknell’s heavier pack overcame us in the second-half.” David Ryan

SCORERS: Wright (try) 0-5, 34min; Ryding (try) 0-10, 36min; Blosse (con) 0-12, 37min; Thomas (try) 0-17, 38min; Blosse (con) 0-19, 38min; Williams (try) 0-24, 41min; Blosse (con) 0-26, 42min; Townsend (try) 5-26, 48min.