On a fresh afternoon at Cobham RFC it was clear from the early exchanges this was going to be a tight encounter between teams with contrasting styles, it was finesse verses physicality. Bracknell RFC approached this fixture looking for performance over result in preparation for next weeks national cup fixture, however as the game progressed, as is the way, the result became more important, in particular as the game reached its dramatic conclusion.

Bracknell started on the front foot, but two knock-ons and a penalty against for holding on, soon gave Chobham their first attacking opportunity on the Bracknell 22. The slick Chobham backs executed a well drilled attacking move which resulted in the first score wide on the left. From a solid scrummage, the 10 received the ball back from his 12 as he wrapped around before missing his 13 and 15 with a long pass. The pass went to ground but had outstripped the Bracknell blitz, there was a hint of a forward pass, but the ball was collected and run in for a much deserved try which was converted well. Chobham led 7-0, and retained the lead through to half time.

Bracknells response was immediate, and very direct. Tom Scott, Josh Knight and Ben Hallaways began to carry in to the heart of the well organised Chobham defence. Ground was given, and phases completed, but on two occasions overlaps ignored. Vision and communication in the heat of battle is hard to coach, but will need to improve in the competitive fixtures to come.

The even contest continued, Chobhams defence was strong, disrupting Bracknell's progress continually at the breakdown, they jackled well, but at times Bracknell made it easy with isolated ball carriers. The penalty count against was high, which included a yellow card on 26 minutes. Scotty had pointed out that Chobham were sealing the ball off. A yellow in a friendly, was perhaps a little harsh, but referee John Watts had made it clear prior to the game, "everything through your skipper".

Chobham finished the half with two missed penalties, and the referees phone bizarrely found the dirt, perhaps the expectation of a call on Valentine's Day was too much!

At half time Ap Dafydd made some changes and called for greater support of the ball carrier, vision with ball in hand and to cut out the errors. Largely this was achieved.

The ball moved freely through the hands and Grant Coates on at 12 began to make ground through the Chobham midfield. Ball carriers had the support missing in the 1st half, so the potency of the Bracknell attacks grew immeasurably. Scotty, Ben H and Josh continued to run hard, and these hard yards were also being made by Sam Dunks and the excellent Jack Whitelaw. With the improved support, came options, options which created opportunity. Initially the final pass was forced, but Bracknell began to dominate.

Kieran Brown on at 10, distributed well, and released Grant on one of his trademark bulldozing runs down the right. Busting a few tackles, he made the line only to ground the ball NFL style, no try!

Shortly after, Grant made amends with another charge down the tramlines following some strong carries around the fringes from Sam D and Josh K. The play was switched back right and Grant ran hard, learning from his previous mistake, holding the ball tight he drove low thought the final tackle to score. Oli Radford converted from wideout to level the score 7-7.

The Bracknell dominance continued, but didn't have it all there own way. Chobham defended well, and create some chances of their own, but playing in to a strong breeze made it difficult to breakout. A long kick in to Bracknell's 22 fielded by Elliott Maddison, now at 15, was returned with interest, the subsequent maul won and the attack continued down the blindside. Now attacking with pace against a fragmented defence, two well timed passes put Grant in to the space he needed to run the ball in. Oli converted and Bracknell led 7-14, with 10 minutes to play.

Bracknell held their form, and Chobham didn't threaten again until a missed touch kick was fielded deep by the Bracknell back 3. The 2nd of two long passes infield went to ground, when perhaps a long wind assisted kick behind the advancing Chobham chasers would have been the option. The loose ball was retrieved and Chobham drove forward to score under the posts, the converted try levelled the score at 14-14 with a minute to play.

From the resultant restart, Bracknell were awarded a scrum on the 10m line. An eager Chobham back line were adjudged to be offside, and the final opportunity of the game fell to Bracknell. This had been a highly competitive encounter, and in this moment the result now seemed to ascend the performance.

40 meters out, Oli coolly set the ball up, and the crowd fell silent. This was the final act of the game. Oli approached the ball with confidence, trusted his technique and struck the ball true straight through the uprights. The game was won 14-17.

A large crowd had stayed to watch two evenly matched sides slug it out, it was a fantastic spectacle, that was enjoyed by all involved.

A big thanks to Chobham RFC for their hospitality and John Watts who had a good day with the whistle.