Bicester III 10 - 32 Wheatley II

On a dark and dreary early Saturday, in an equally dark and dreary Bicester, a Wheatley 2nd XV comprised of players both new and old to take on an opposition in good form. Disappointed with a loss by a point against Abingdon in the last match, spirits were high in the Wheatley changing room, despite Bicester winning the last four of their five matches and the uncertainty of an ever changing line up.

James Pollard was anointed skipper for the match in absence of Wheatley’s Ruck Inspector, Peter Ramsdale, who had a shoulder “injury”. Several key changes were made for this match, the most notable being Matt Richards was placed into the Second Row for great effect, and a returning Gavin Belcher slotted in at Scum Half.

From the kick off, the mood for the match was set – it was to be physical, it was to be fast, and it was to be a test of discipline. Bicester made themselves quickly known, crashing in messy ruck after messy ruck, only to be repelled by the Wheatley defence that did not think twice about putting their bodies on the line. A breakdown of discipline in the Bicester ranks in the first half, resulting in a lovely black eye to Belcher (if you haven’t heard) which prompted the referee to tell a player from both sides to cool off for ten minutes.

Wheatley’s new backrow line up quickly learned to communicate after conceding a try due to a case of miscommunication and a missed tackle. Under the leadership of the returning Fly Half, Brent Flowers, the backs managed to defend deep within their 22 time and time again.

Wheatley dominated the scrum and lineout, frequently forcing the turnover and creating opportunities leading to counter attacks and tries. Gavin Belcher showed Bicester the hard way that the “Show and Go” never goes out of fashion by gaining vital ground to set up Wheatley’s Number 8, Tamworth, with a game changing try. Brent soon shined afterwards by gifting Wheatley with two tries on his first match in months.

Discipline fueled Wheatley with strong play against high standard team, which was shown in the score line. Teamwork, and motivation speeches by the skipper, insured counterattacks paid off and hard work was rewarded with several tries. This was the epitome of a match that showed that recent form means nothing – if a team has discipline, communication and good spirit, anything is possible.

Try scorers:
Tam x 2
Bret x2
James Pollard
Gav Belcher

MoM – Matt Richards
DoD – Irish Jonny

Words - Callum Fraser