Brackley started 2019 with a bang on Saturday as they beat Wellingborough O.G’s 22-5 away from home in the first game of the year.

In good conditions, Brackley brought with them a strong squad as they try to keep the pressure on their promotion rivals at the top of the table. The visitors started the game strongly, pinning Wellingborough in their 22 but the hosts held firm and were able to alleviate the pressure. The Wellingborough back row were everywhere on the pitch throughout the game with big tackles, turnovers at ruck time and strong direct running. It was the hosts who opened the scoring, when their flanker made a powerful break down the left side and showed good feet to get past the last man to make it 5-0.

This ignited Brackley who from the restart increased their intensity and the pace they were playing at, which Wellingborough struggled to cope with. Dominating possession and territory, Brackley were able to get their first score of the match, putting the ball through the hands before full back Seb Johnson sliced his way through the hosts’ defensive line to score in the corner and even the game up. Brackley continued to keep the pressure on Wellingborough for the remainder of the half and on the stroke of half time got another try as second row Joe Staniforth powered his way through several Wellingborough defenders to score. The Johnson conversion made it 12-5 at the break.

Knowing that the hosts were struggling with their pace of play, Brackley continued to dominate in the second half. Shortly into the half with a line out near the Wellingborough 10 metre line, the Brackley forwards decided to show their muscle, creating a maul which drove Wellingborough back towards their try line at a rate of knots before crashing over with hooker Mikey Clark emerging with the ball. The visitors then went looking for the bonus point try and it looked like it would come sooner rather than later. Then after a loose ball found its way to young wing George Altham, he showed how electric he is, beating several Wellingborough defenders to get Brackley into the 22. After a couple of phases that threatened the hosts’ try line the ball was whipped wide back to Altham who dived over in the corner to make it 22-5.

With the game all but lost, Wellingborough made the last 20 minutes a lot more scrappy and despite looking to increase their lead even more, Brackley started allowing themselves to fall into the hosts’ tactics. With Brackley getting frustrated, they started to give away penalties, which led to Jonny Morris being sin binned and allowed Wellingborough to dominate possession and territory for the remainder of the game. However the visitors’ defence was resolute and were able to get a crucial turnover at the end to finish off the game.

This was a good performance by Brackley to get a bonus point win away from home against a tough physical opposition and is an ideal start to 2019. Next up is the visit of promotion rivals Aylestone St. James next week, who sit just 2 points behind Brackley.