Sat 26 Oct 2019, 15:00
It was a day of mixed fortunes for Brackley as the 1st XV made it three wins in a row, whilst the Development Team lost a close game away from home.
Both games were played in awful weather conditions leading to tight affairs littered with errors. The 1st XV hosted a tough Aylestone St James side, in the 1st half it was very close with most of the action taking place in the middle of the field, but the visitors were the ones to go into half time with a narrow 3-0 lead.
The second half saw Brackley use a smart kicking game to keep Aylestone pinned down in their own half. This eventually led to the first try as centre Nathan Archer capitalised on a loose ball from a line out to dive over and score. This was soon followed by a second score as the forwards and backs linked up well from the back of a scrum to release full back George Altham who scored in the corner. Brackley continued to add points throughout the half through the boot of Dan Gray and despite a late charge by Aylestone, Brackley had enough to hold on and win 16-3.
The Development Team travelled to Northampton to take on a powerful BBOB side. Both sides showed excellent defence throughout in what was an evenly contested match up. However the hosts had a clear size advantage in the forwards, which they used as they crashed over in the corner following a rolling maul, giving them a 5-0 lead at half time. BBOB added a second following some sustained pressure, their scrum half was able to sneak over from a quick tap penalty as he caught Brackley sleeping, giving the hosts a 12-0 victory.
Next week sees both teams have a much deserved week off but the club will be open on Saturday morning as we cheer England on in the World Cup Final at 9am against South Africa.
