Our first league matches of the year, and we were at home on pitch one in the sunshine. First up was our A team fixture in Div 2 against Amersham & Chiltern, and we were playing downhill for the first half. Bracknell dominated both territory and possession against stiff A&C defence, but our only rewards were two tries in the left corner by Matteo which Liam couldn’t quite convert, so we were 10-0 at the break.
The second half began with strong pressure from A&C, and they quickly secured a converted try to trail 10-7. A&C then conceded a yellow card, and Bracknell capitalised with a break from Liam, linking with Scott on the right wing allowing Liam to touch down. Further tries from Scott and Matt H followed, and Liam kicked 3/3 in the second half, meaning that Bracknell A team ran out 31-7 victors.
Our second match of the afternoon was our B team match in Div 3 against a very strong Shipston-on-Stour team who probably should be in a higher division. Two quick Shipston tries gave them a 0-14 lead, before Lewis C broke through their defence for our solitary try. We continued to defend with lots of energy, but 3 more tries from Shipston gave them a 5-33 lead at half time.
Bracknell then had the advantage of playing downhill in the second half, and produced an epic 35 minutes of strong defence along with some excellent attacking moments. We weren’t quite able to add another score, but we limited Shipston to one further try, meaning the final score was 5-40 to them.
Highlights for Bracknell were that we had 37 Colts playing today, everyone really dug in and contributed, and both teams supported each other from the sidelines. We should also note that several Colts played in different positions from normal, and a big hand is also due to the A subs who stayed back to fill in add bench strength to the B squad when we struggled with some injuries.
Well done to all the Colts, #GoBRFC.
by Phil Wells