They scored four tries in all – Joe Taylor, Aaron Laman and Alex Gabbidon also touching down after great patience close to the line – and dominated at the set-piece too. It was the first time the two sides have met and Wheatley has built a lead and maintained it, a significant step forward and important in maintaining momentum for 2018.

The visitors were kept scoreless in the first half and offered little in attack, perhaps understandable given the poor run of form they find themselves in.

For all the talk of the unavailability of Dan Bland and Jack Taylor, The Butler brothers wee ready made replacements on the the pitch, and only then because James Butler was knocked unconscious late in the second half did the duo not complete 80 minutes. Wheatley stuck to their plan to remain disciplined at the break down and play ball in hand rugby in the face of the opposition.

All in all, it was a good afternoon for the men from Oxfordshire.

Which Wheats caught the eye?

The back three – It’s fair to say that many of the back-three contingent in this Wheatley squad had underperformed in the previous games, but the trio chosen against the Bletchley sparked into life on Saturday. Joe Taylor crossed for a try but could easily had more with an almost complete performance both offensive and defensively and popped up in the middle of the park regularly. Jordan Hook was lively on his wing and he was not shy to get involved with the more physical element of the game and was not going to get intimidated by the angry Bletchley 10! Iain Downer made several trademark jinky runs and played a part in Taylors try and added one himself.

Alex Gabbidon – He proved to be a thorn in the side f the Bletchley pack, dominating both in the loose and the set piece a constant attacking option for the back line to utilise and popping up on the left wing to score in the corner he was also prominent in defence put in several tackles on the opposing forward runners. After some periods of Bletchley attack Gabbidon provided quick ball to the Wheatley back line giving a counter-attacking opportunity. Those were just three of the front rows contributions in the opening 40 minutes as he produced another impressive display. It has to be said that all the front-rows in this weeks line up have performed well this week and it will interesting to see who continues to improve in the new year.

What’s hot

Centre partnership of Mpanza and Hobdell a defensive master piece from these two, there will be players from the opposing having nightmares thinking about this formidable duo, nothing came through! and hard running in attack great performance.

Adventurous spirit – Wheatley have been criticised in recent weeks for their limited game plan but they showed a more attack-minded streak here – the good running conditions no doubt playing a part. Yes, their set-piece was sill dominant, but they also showed a willingness to run the ball. This was personified by Joe Taylors try, when the Wheatley launched a counter-attack from their own 22, spread the ball wide to Jordan Hook, who broke down the wing before passing the ball back inside, where it was recycled, fed out to Taylor, who picked a good angle to get over the line.

Tries from: Laman, Downer, Gabbidon and Taylor, Penalty and three conversion Laman,
Bletchley Try from their number 8