You know when you have a good referee, when you forget he is there, but today's referee was all to visible and not just for his garish 'pink' attire. Unfortunately the officiating had the greatest impact on this friendly fixture between a mixed Bracknell Academy squad and High Wycombe U18.

Bracknell fielded a squad of 27 players, which is a strong indicator of the harmony in this group of players, and of the work the management and coaching team is putting in at this critical transfer from juniors to senior rugby.

Played over 3 25 minute periods, the squad was mixed up with some players being taken out of their comfort zone by playing in different positions.

With the wind on their backs, Bracknell started the strongest, but their continuity, space and time were rare commodities, with High Wycombe continually infringing around the contact areas. There was no back foot, and the Bracknell 9's were constantly having their pockets picked, the Artful Dodger would have been impressed. Patrick Fitzgerald, the stand in 10, had similar issues with the HW midfield raiding his midfield. So covert were these incisions into enemy territory, the referee failed to notice them.

So a modicum of space and time customary offered by the offside line was not present, this was not good line speed. As a result, the Bracknell carriers had to work extra hard to break the gain line, and the midfield were forced to run laterally. The back 3 found timing their introduction into the line difficult. More depth was required.

To be fair to HW, they were a fierce bunch, tackling hard in uncompromising fashion, it was to be applauded.

Patrick though is an intelligent player, and on two occasions dealt with the blitz, with dead weight kicking in to the dead ball area. On both occasions, the racing gazelle that is Callum Baker raced past the turning defenders and touched down for a brace of tries. Oli Radford converted the first well in a tricky wind. Bracknell turned around 0-12 up.

The changes were made for the 2nd third. HW started the strongest, and scored first. Having kicked long, the chase was good, charging down Luke Fisher's clearance kick and dot the ball down. The conversion was successful. Bracknell's lead was reduced to 7-12.

This stung Bracknell, who began to making too many unforced errors and lost their shape, trying to re-establish the clear dominance. HW continued to defend with physicality, and the impact of a few late nights in Reading on Saturday was perhaps beginning to show on a few Bracknell players! The random management of the offside had improved, but was still present and a frustration. It was on a rare drive into the HW half that Bracknell scored their 3rd from a well executed catch and drive from 22 meters out. The touchdown went to Tom Furmedge, who was playing his first game this season, his impact was there to be seen. The conversion was missed in to a strong breeze.

Going in to the final 3rd, Bracknell led 7-17. Again the changes were made, and coach Ap Dafydd asked for a back to basics approach, focusing on ball retention, play the phases, the tackle area and cutting out the 50:50 offloads.

In the main this was achieved. The final try was scored by Ally Walton from close range, but this try owed much to an regal charge upfield by Matan Sayegh busting holes through the HW 'Shieldwall' like a French Knight on his white Destrier. The charge was halted a few meters out, the ball was recycled and Ally spun through a tackle and scored. A well timed conversion by Jake Findley completed the scoring, and the game was cut short following an injury to Ewan Meers who thankfully was able to limp back to the showers.

Bracknell won 7-24.

Mental strength is a pre-requisite of a good side, and this can be shown in many different ways. Winning games when the performance is below par, or in adversity when overcoming influences out of your control. This squad does have heart and mental strength in abundance, no better shown when a limited HW outfit had their only meaningful attack of the day in the final 3rd. The impressive, but tetchy HW 8 made in-roads through the Bracknell defence, only to be brought down by some excellent last ditch tackling in the Bracknell posts. The subsequent organisation and aggressive defence around the fringes, forced an error and the Bracknell line were cleared. It was a friendly, and a 2nd try for HW would not have changed the result, but the desire to defend their line was a classic example of mental strength, it's a great habit to have.

There we some great performances throughout, all played their part. Jacob Elliott and Chadders tackled well, Julian Guy ran hard, Callum Baker finished with aplomb. Oli and Ally distributed well from the base, dealing well with the close attention of the Artful Dodger, and Patrick playing outside of his comfort zone managed the game with some confidence. Euan, Brooke, Scotty, Tom F and Cam all did the hard yards. Apologies for not mentioning you all, as each and every one of you put in a shift today. Well done lads.