Buzzards Give Bicester the Blues
Buzzards 6 – Bicester 4
Saturday morning offered the Buzzards U13 team two reasons to be apprehensive about their fixture with Bicester: the result against South Africa proved that anything can happen in the game of rugby. Secondly, they were without their Head Coach Harry Charter who had flown out to Japan just days before. However the U13s made an outstanding start under the instruction of Anthony Puma. Within 2 minutes, a Jack Charter try capitalised on some great passing from Lewis Jeans. From the outset Buzzards were dynamic and accurate in their passing which led to two successive tries from Ethan Davies and Billy Quinn. New signings such as Caspar and Remy have offered the team strength in the scrum, and this paid dividends as we drove the play back into our half. The boys were committed to winning the ball in the break down and they proved to be aggressive and calculated in defence with clinical tackles from Will McAndrew, Harrison Debbage-Price, Alex Cartwright and Lewis Jeans, among others, leading Steve Debbage-Price to remark ‘Buzzards look like they really want the ball today.’ Bicester looked bewildered as Buzzards continued to put the pressure on. Precision passing from Jack Charter to Harry Puma to Lewis Jeans to Charlie Rumens resulted in the fourth try of the game – a piece of play which served as a reminder of how far this teams all round play, not to mention teamwork, has improved over the past 12 months. The fifth try for Buzzards came from a textbook run from Jack Charter. ‘If only England had played like this yesterday!’ was the joyful sentiment from the proud parents on the side-lines.
During the second third early plaudits appeared premature as Bicester responded skilfully with an early try. Lewis Jeans proved invaluable in defence as he tackled two consecutive Bicester runs towards the line. Some forceful play including rips from Billy Quinn and Alex Cartwright attempted to prevent Bicester from gaining any real momentum. Making his Buzzards debut, Jack Oatley made a great tackle to keep the ball in our half. Nevertheless, Bicester showed grit in attack and stole two further tries from the Buzzards, who retreated into defensive play. Strong work by Ben Rodgers, Will McAndrew and Harry West kept the Buzzards ahead and when the opportunity presented itself at the end of this third, Finley Rodgers scored a sixth try for Buzzards.
In the final third Bicester defended with spirit and continued to look dangerous to a Buzzards team who grew increasingly tired. Uncompromising tackles again from Will McAndrew, and skilful play from Jack Charter and Lewis Jeans prevented Bicester from scoring any more than their fourth try in this scrappy final third.
A great morning of rugby for the spectators, plenty of tackling, tries and scrums which showcased the progress of this Buzzards team under the tutelage of Harry and the other coaches. Plucky Bicester gave our boys a lesson in positive mind-set – in spite of a difficult start our opponents remained committed to winning the ball and kept their heads up, resulting in a score line to be proud of. Fortunately on this occasion, Buzzards were able to steal the victory thanks to some great work ethic, key individual performances but most importantly the growth of a team spirit. Thanks go to Buzzards own Jack Cullen who proved objective and fair as referee, complimented by both Bicester and Buzzards spectators.
Kerry Quinn