LEIGHTON BUZZARD 68 – 7 BRACKLEY
Leighton Buzzard’s first-half performance overwhelmed visitors Brackley, scoring eight converted tries before the break. The second-half turned out to be an anti-climax for the home crowd, but credit to Brackley, who remained competitive to the end.
Buzzards kicked off in dry and sunny conditions with the pitch in excellent condition considering how much rain has fallen in recent weeks. Ollie Taylor thought he had scored in the first minute, grounding the ball after a kick-through, but the referee had spotted an earlier knock-on.
Following relentless early pressure, Buzzards opened the scoring after four minutes when Matt Bloxham touched down in the corner. Shortly after Leighton added a further try – good handling between Raef Braithwaite and Ollie Taylor gave James Brett the opportunity to finish an excellent move. James Brett converted both of these tries from the touchline.
Four minutes later, Buzzards scored another fine try, once again showing their handling skills including an excellent off-load from Will Batchelor putting Ash Walsh into space to touch down. The bonus point was secured after eighteen minutes with Buzzards fourth try – the half backs Ewan Starling and James Brett combining well for the captain’s second try. With all tries converted, Leighton led 28-0 with less than twenty minutes played.
The lead should have been extended shortly afterwards when Jacob Davies knocked on with the line at his mercy, but this proved a brief respite for the visitors as Buzzards added four more first half tries. Firstly, Callum Creber forced his way over from short range and then James Brett added his third try beating numerous defenders to touch down. With five minutes of the half left , Jacob Dove added his name to the scorers with a mazey run and finally Jamie West jinked his way to the try line despite the efforts of numerous defenders.
James Brett converted all eight tries, which with his three touchdowns gave him a personal tally of 31 points in Buzzards 56-0 half-time lead.
Brackley started the second-half well with good attacking intent. Unlike the constant flow of tries in the first half, there were now periods where neither side came close to scoring. Matt Bloxham, who was later named man of the match by coach Phil Llewellyn, made an excellent break after fifty-five minutes but it came to nothing. Debutant Asher Veness also made some good runs.
With the game won in the first half, perhaps Leighton’s concentration wavered. Also, with Buzzards keen on trying different combinations and positional changes, Leighton’s focus, so evident in the first half, fell away. Additionally, the flow of the game was interrupted by numerous offences and frequent blast from the referee’s whistle.
After thirty minutes of the second half, Buzzards finally added to their score. An excellent move from inside their half, made space for Jamie West to show his pace to score in the corner. Credit to Brackley, who remained competitive throughout the half, and with eight minutes remaining, scored a converted try to make the score 61-7.
There remained time for Ryan Wilson to make an encouraging debut in the back row and for Ollie Taylor to score a final try, which with Ewan Starling’s conversion made the final score 68-7.
Next week Buzzards travel to Old Laurentians .