On the 29th of October, the Wildboys welcomed Bracknell Stags to the road-side pitch at Kingsey Road. Now backtrack 71 years to the 29th of October 1945, this was the day that Biro put on sale the very first Ball-Point pen, fitting that the Wildboys would require both the ball and points to ensure victory against the reigning league champions.
A full-strength side was fielded on behalf of the Wildboys and the confidence was high during the warm-up. The Wildboys were aware that this was a must win fixture if they had any aspirations of winning the league, as the season prior Bracknell only walked away the losers in one game.
As the referee blew his whistle Chinnor kicked towards the Bracknell pack, but it was a poor start as the ball dropped woefully short. Bracknell then opted for the scrum and the game continued. Chinnor regained possession soon after and as the stand in 9, Rob Nichols, picked the ball up to pass, the ball was thrown straight to the floor (they were using a new ball which was covered in “Resin”!) Hopefully this was the extent of the unforced errors for the Wildboys.
In the early stages of the game, apart from the above, Chinnor looked the dominant side. The forward were running hard lines as was Jayson Abbott in the centre. It wasn’t long before Max Williams was diving over the line for the first try of the day. Thankfully the Wildboys now have a kicking aficionado and for the second week running Will Jones was adding the extra 2 points for the Wildboys.
The Stags fought back with the form that the Wildboys had come to expect, the Chinnor players defended stoically, but unfortunately conceded a penalty right in front of the posts. Luckily for the home team the kicker lost concentration and the ball sailed wide, the score remaining 7-0.
The Wildboys, back in possession, were on the attack again. They were playing the ball out of their own half with some good phases, but then the “resin” on the ball meant the ball was dropped again, thankfully it went backwards and was calmly collected by Max Wood. Max then hugged the touchline, skinned three Bracknell players and ran half of the pitch to touchdown for the second try of the day. Once again the ball was slotted over by Will Jones putting the Wildboys 14-0 in the lead.
It was decided that the residual Resin on the brand-new ball was not acceptable and an old ball was ordered onto the pitch. The new ball must have made all the difference as before long the Wildboys were attacking again, the ball went through the hands out to the wing where Will Jones collected the ball and unchallenged, he trotted over the line taking his points tally to 9. It was a fantastic team try, showing the unselfishness and team spirit that the Wildboys are built on. Unfortunately, the conversion did not make it this time, leaving the score at 19-0.
With half time, fast approaching, Bracknell knew that some points were required if they were to stand a chance in resurrecting any hopes of victory. With this in mind, the Stags forwards took it upon themselves to gain some points and a fantastic maul from a line-out saw them march the ball over the line for their first points of the day. It was then expertly converted, reducing the deficit to 19-7. This was how the score remained until half-time.
In the second half, the Wildboys continued with their dominance in all aspects of the game, they attacked with speed and ferocity and the want for celebratory John Smiths was evident. The dominance paid off with further converted tries from Rob Nichols and Max Wood, the second of the two was single handedly created by Sam Ludgate who’s break saw him run half the pitch before being snagged by the full back, off-loading and enabling Max to gain his second try of the day. Ludgates hard work all day was evident for all to see and the hard work paid off when he ran over the Wildboys final try of the day putting the score at 38-7. With less than 10 minutes remaining and the game all but over, the referee saw fit to give the Wildboys a team yellow and of course it was Max Wood who was on the receiving end and who would sit off for the remainder of the match. This was but a small blot on what was a fantastic game for the Wildboys and is a clear sign of Chinnor’s intentions this season.
Man of the Match was a difficult decision all round, with many layers making the shortlist. Jayson Abbott got a special mention for his performance, but the accolade was given to Sam Ludgate whose dominance around the pitch was exemplary. The Mare of the Match was not such a hard-fought contest and was given to Rob Nichols for his part in “the most stupid thing ever seen on a rugby pitch.”
The Wildboys now have a two week break before they travel to Thatcham on the 19th of November, however the Outlaws have their second fixture of the season on the 12th. Until then keep it wild…
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Man of the Match: Sam Ludgate
Mare of the Match: Rob Nichols
Tries: M.Williams, M.Wood(2), W.Jones, R.Nichols, S.Ludgate
Conv: W.Jones(4)