Witney 58 - Bicester 3
A nine try romp on paper but in reality, a bruising local derby where the
visitors battled well throughout. Witney started with a bang as Henry Lamb
released James Lamb who powered through a half gap and opened up to score in
the opening five minutes. Ed Mitchem added a conversion and a penalty to
leave Witney 10 points to the good and the match barely underway. Any side at
the bottom of the League facing that will either crumble or show heart and
the visitors have a proud club who showed bundles of heart and knuckled down.
The open play was competitive and the set piece as combative as ever but
generally Witney were on top. The play sometimes got a bit panicked as Witney
chased the next score but a superb forward rumble gave the team confidence
and the second score was surely not far away as Bicester struggled to really
break out of their own half.
It came after concerted pressure when Witney had tested the visitors defence
at most levels before some quick hands saw Carl Strutt broke through and
showed good strength to touch down, the conversion narrowly missed. Witney
shone for the next ten minutes with Ed Mitchem causing constant questions and
only a magnificent tap tackle prevented him breaking through. Great handling
by the threequarters saw Tom Overbury released and only a fine tackle by the
Bicester full back saw that chance gone but Witney were in full control with
forwards Joe Rowles and Wayne Caffekey causing mayhem in the loose with their
line breaks.
It was Bicester who created the next score but not in the way they wanted. A
good kick from Henry Lamb put Bicester on the back foot and good following up
by James Monks put the full back under pressure and despite him getting
through the first tackle the ball was intercepted by the ever alert Carl
Strutt who “cruised†in from halfway, Ed Mitchem converting. With halftime
approaching another score was unlikely but nobody told big Joe Rowles that!
The makeshift second row had a stomping opening 40 minutes and powered over
from close range to give the home supporters a real tonic before halftime,
the conversion making it a whopping 29-0 margin at the interval.
The opening five minutes was crucial to either kill the game off or get
Bicester back into the match and as in the opening half, Witney enjoyed the
best possible start. Some sublime handling saw Wayne Caffekey break the line
yet again and his pass inside to scrum half Gareth Campbell saw the
inspirational number nine cross over. Ed Mitchems conversion made it 36-0 and
the score could only one way now couldn’t it ? Well, nobody told Bicester
that and whether it was Witney taking their foot off the gas or the visitors
playing for pride, who knows, but Bicester enjoyed their best 15 minutes of
the match. They fought for everything and forced penalties from the home
side. Wayne Caffekey had reluctantly left the field with an injury and
combatitive Richard Kerr came on for a deserved debut at hooker, with Sam
Collins moving to blind side. Bicester really knuckled down and only superb
Witney defence kept them out with James Monks sweeping to great effect and
saving a certain score. The Bicester onslaught was kept at bay apart from one
successful penalty and the home supporters urged the team not to rest on
their laurels and press for more scores. They did just that and the next one
came from a clever nudge through from Henry Lamb which saw Carl Strutt show
surprising pace to get the touchdown. It was a hat-trick for the centre and
it showed what a good eye for the try line he has.
This knocked the stuffing out of the visitors and the next ten minutes were
one way traffic and Witney really put Bicester to the sword. When luck is not
going your way, things go against you and a neat chip through from Witney saw
Bicester’s winger cover across in text book style and sweep on the ball only
to spill it, bang into the post and the ball being lost. Witney skipper James
Lamb swooped and showed great ball skills to not knock on and score a great
opportunist try, Mitchem converting. Next came from Gareth Campbell who
completed a brace after great work from Richard Kerr who took one against the
head and set up the scrum half for a blind side scamper. That took Witney
over 50 points but argueably the best was yet to come. A scrum midfield saw
makeshift number 8 Carl Campbell break on the blind side and a couple of
sweetly timed passes later, James Monks was released and a classic side step
inside showed him a clear run to the line which he took and the final tally
of 58 points was completed.
A great win over their local rivals and while you couldn’t really argue with
any of the tries, the scoreline perhaps was unfair on the visitors who showed
far more than their League position suggests. Next week it’s the dreaded
journey to a much improved Slough outfit and a any sort of result would be
superb given the number of Witney sides who have travelled back down the M40
with nothing over the years.
1st XV
Michem, Overbury, Strutt, *Lamb(J), Monks, Lamb(H), Campbell(G): Serle,
Collins(S), Richens, Rowles, Bennett(C), Muller, Campbell(C), Caffekey
Repl: Gosling, Kerr(Caffekey-45), Lambourne(Overbury-60)
VIEW FROM THE TOUCHLINE
Really enjoyed the spirit in the team given all the changes and the tries
were “goodensâ€. The coaches were extremely pleased with the way the guys were
trying to put the hard work on the training paddock into action on a
Saturday. To me, the defence was as important as the tries though with Monksy
saving one and the impressive Carl Campbell everywhere with “an engine†that
just keeps on going. Joe Rowles was outstanding in the first half and offered
the physical presence that was missing with Owen Fowler and Lewis Griffiths
both absent. Ed Mitchem also had a great game from the back with great
communication which was apparent throughout the team and they are learning
valuable lessons each week. It’s a long season and the run up to Christmas
will really show the metal of the squad, only time will tell. Nice that the
lads put on a good show for the supporters and especially for Witney stalwart
Frank Grant who has been unwell but came up to watch the match.
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