Sat 2 Mar 2019
After a month of inactivity in February, Brackley were back in league action away to Kempston on Saturday as they began what will be a massive month for the club.
Coming into the match just 5 points behind second in the league, Brackley knew only a bonus point victory would do as they took on a Kempston side rooted to the bottom of the table without a win all season. The start of the game was very scrappy as Brackley made a number of unforced errors and gave away several penalties to allow the hosts to take control of the territory. However this soon changed when a deep kick was caught by young full back George Altham, who set off from inside his 22 leaving Kempston defenders clutching at air before being brought down near the Kempston 10 metre line, second row Stefon Webb kept the play alive with a pick and go into the hosts' 22 before off loading to the supporting Gareth Rees to get the opening try.
With the opening score in the books, the visitors took more control of the game but loose passes meant they couldn't play within the structure they wanted but were still dangerous punishing Kempston's mistakes. A turnover at scrum time on the Kempston 22 by Brackley led to the second try as number 8 Joe Staniforth went on rampaging run from the back of the scrum before passing to scrum half Andy Mawle who stepped past the covering defence to dot down under the sticks. This was soon followed up by some good work from the forwards close to the hosts try line as captain Luke Hallam-Evans crashed over in the corner to make it 19-0.
With a strong lead quickly established, Brackley seemingly lost concentration when Kempston broke into the 22 with a good kick return and they kept the ball alive for their 10 to score in the corner and get the home side on the scoreboard. This woke the visitors back up as they quickly got back into the Kempston 22 but couldn't keep control of possession and as the hosts went to clear their lines, the kick was charged down by inside centre Nathan Archer and the ball bounced nicely for him to score an easy try. The bonus point try was soon followed by a fifth when some strong running in the Kempston 22 created gaps in the home side's defensive line allowing prop Graeme Cartmell to charge through under the posts making it 33-5 at half time.
With less than 10 minutes to go Brackley showed their superior fitness and kept increasing the pressure on Kempston and despite some good defence from the home side, Webb was able to crash over for his second try. Then straight from the kick off Cartmell was able to make an excellent break and after some good support play from wing Henry Pearson and flanker Niall Morrow, he was able to get on the end of the counter attack he started for his second score of the game. As the game came to a close the visitors finished with a flurry as Staniforth powered over from close range to get Brackley's 10th try of the match, which with the six conversions from fly half Mike Lowdell finished 62-12.
Despite what was in the end a convincing bonus point victory, this was by no means a perfect performance by Brackley who did well capitalising on Kempston's mistakes but know they will need to up their game when they welcome league leaders Northampton BBOB to Nightingale Close next Saturday.
