Bracknell take Hampshire’s finest all the way

Bracknell take Hampshire’s finest all the way

Winchester RFC Colts 18 v Bracknell RFC Colts 13

By David Wright

The sky was blue for Bracknell’s visit to in-form Winchester but the unbeaten Hampshire outfit cooked up a storm in the first quarter, enough to win the match despite a spirited Bracknell fightback.
Bracknell were punished for a slow start as a dominant Winchester pack and dangerous set of backs bossed the first 25 minutes and would have scored more if their place kicking had been up to standard.
After 12 minutes Winchester had a line-out and threw to the middle. Magnum Barbea ran through a dog leg Bracknell defence for 5-0. Six minutes later, Bracknell showed some of their potential when Winchester were penalised for killing the ball and the visitors’ forwards and backs combined well to moved the ball into Winchester’s 22 before the ball was kicked dead. After Bracknell forced another penalty on 20 minutes they opted for points on the board and Ben Radford stepped up to make it 5-3.
It seemed Bracknell may have weathered the tempest, but Winchester struck back hard, their forwards dominating the two minutes after the restart before a touchdown from Clarke Kickham opened up a 10-3 margin.
However, Bracknell were finally in the game and when Winchester scored their third and final try, through Joe Guy on 28 minutes, it was thanks to a break-out from their own 22 and against the run of play.
Bracknell did manage to strike back nefore half-time, hooker Luke Evans going over after a line-out and maul from Winchester’s 22 rolled, magnificently, all the way to the try line.
Bracknell Academy Head Coch Martin Radford reminded his players that they had been dominated physically for the first 20 minutes but had recovered from that wobble and come back with strength and aggression. He called on them to step up those energy levels in the second half and the message seemed to hit home.
The Berkshire outfit, in probably their last training match before the league and cup campaigns open, had the majority of territory and possession in the first 15 minutes of the second half and their pressure led Winchester to give away a string of penalties. The referee eventually lost patience and sin-binned a Winchester player for handling in the ruck.
Bracknell continued to exert pressure and following a line-out for Winchester’s on their own five metre line, which Bracknell No 8 Oli Nixon stole, Bracknell were awarded a penalty for hands in the ruck. Scrum-half Simon Haddad took a quick tap and scored 16 minutes into the second half to make it a nail-biting 15-13.
Defences remained on top for the rest of a pulsating game which swung this way and that. Johnno Griffiths prevented a Winchester score, holding up a prop in the tackle when over the try line, and Bracknell had the chance to go ahead from a penalty in front of the posts and well within kicking range. But they turned down the chance in favour of an uncontested scrum - the attack broke down and the opportunity was lost, but perhaps a lesson was learnt.
Winchester then hit the post from a drop-goal attempt and Nixon gathered the rebound and counter-attacked. But the final points came from a Winchester penalty 35-metres out. ront of the posts and the penalty was kicked from 35 metres – making the score 18-13.
It was a war of attrition on a sea of mud but Winchester were physically and mentally strong enough to hold out despite Bracknell’s second-half onslaught.Their coach said: “This was very competitive. Bracknell’s lineout and maul functioned very well and for us it was a tough game and the closest we have come to losing our unbeaten record this season”.
Radford added: “It’s the first time we’ve run out in our new kit, sponsored by St James Roofing, and I’d like to say a big ‘thank-you’ to them. We made a slow start from which it was difficult to recover in a very competitive game against one of Hampshire’s best sides”.

SCORERS: Barbea (try) 5-0, 12min; Radford (pen) 5-3, 20min; Kickham (try) 10-3, 22min; Guy (try) 15-3, 28min; Evans (try) 15-8, 28min; Haddad (try) 15-13, 51min; Smith (pen) 18-13, 63min.