There's something thrilling about a match that goes down to the wire, that remains in the balance right up to the final whistle, that could go either way and Saturday's match against Longlevens was one of those. It felt that if the game had gone on for another 5 minutes Blues could have won, yet if it had gone on for another 10 minutes Longlevens could have won. Bit like a tennis tie break. If the law makers had decided the winner would be the first to nine rather than seven points games could well have had a different outcome. But, laws are laws, timing is timing and with Blues five points adrift going into the final few minutes and pushing hard the final whistle came a bit too soon for Blues but not before time for Longlevens. When their scrum half kicked the ball into the north bank it signified the end of the game, with Blues coming out second best but with two bonus points. And it was a game of what ifs. What if Blues spacing had been a bit different in the first half defending with a bit more width, what if a couple of tackles had been made to stop Longlevens putting scoreboard pressure on, what if the referee had awarded Blues a penalty try in the second half, what if a few penalties around the breakdown had been awarded. The list could go on but on a Sunday afternoon when this report is being written, it is a complete irrelevance. Blues lost 31-36. Period, to borrow a word from American English.

Despite the loss there were some notable performances. Front row Ben Hicks, Harry Waye Branch, Sam Bramhall and George Robinson Slater all played their part in an outstanding scrum performance, winning a number of penalties and showing that technique in scrummaging is sometimes more important than sheer size. Our scrum dominance got stronger as the game went on and should give the forwards a great deal of confidence moving into the season. A word also of the second row of Ashley Doel and debutant Dave Barber who supported their front row extremely well. Other debutants were Chris Harvey and deserved man of the match full back Ben Hurford-John. Ben's running from the back was exceptional and his hat trick of tries shows what a talent he is with the ability to change direction at speed and beat defenders when there appears to be no space to do so. Well done to all debutants and welcome to you and to all players new to Blues this season. We all look forward to seeing you in action for one or other of our senior teams.

Blues could not have had a worse start. A knock on from the kick off, advantage played and four phases later Longlevens found their way to scoring their first try. It was clear the visiting backs were skilful and able to move the ball into space quickly and efficiently. We also know of course that we have backs who can do likewise and after two dominant tackles by Miles Albert and a half break by Dan Thorne, some slick handling resulted in Jacob Checksfield gong over to level the score at five all. And all within the first few minutes of the game and rather presciently coach James McAvoy said, "this could be a 41-40 point thriller." The second five minute period of the game gave us another two tries, the first from the visitors and the response from Blues, from another half break by Dan Thorne leading to Miles Albert powering over. The successful conversion by Dan put Blues ahead 12-10. Rugby is not without its humour and a high attacking kick by Blues saw the Longlevens number eight running backwards to catch the ball, only to find the ball hitting his head. The ball could have gone anywhere, the player could have been dazed but to his credit he collected the ball and made a superb clearing kick. Thankfully he wasn't injured, in which case it would not have been humorous at all. Soon after, Ben Hurford-John collected the ball, chipped forward and outpaced the defence to reclaim the ball and score the first of his three tries to extend Blues lead to seven points. All was looking good but before half time Longlevens scored two further tries. The first from a quick tapped penalty as a result of offside, the second from a rolling maul. And it could have worse had it not been for some superb covering from Harry Waye Branch and try saving tackles from Will Osborne and George Shakespeare. Half time 17-24 to Longlevens.

The second half started much like the first half, with Longlevens scoring within minutes of the restart. Blues would have been disappointed with their defence giving away this try but even at 17-31, there remained belief that Blues could come back and challenge the lead, which is exactly what they did, courtesy of Ben's second try, a run in from just inside the Longlevens half. The successful conversion by Dan made the score 24-31 and with the scrum now really firing, Monks Lane began to exude optimism that the boys could do this. Pivotal moments in games. Blues attacking strongly down the left, five or so metres out, a clear overlap and a deliberate knock on by one of the Longlevens players to stop the pass from being completed. The player yellow carded. Cries of penalty try from Blues. Cries of that's hardly a penalty from Longlevens, let alone a yellow card. All eyes on the referee. No penalty try. On another day, who knows. Still, Blues who were in a strong attacking position, opted for the scrum, secured the ball, but were held up over the visitors line. Longlevens fought their way out of their own half, won a penalty of their own and from the resulting attacking lineout rumbled over to make the score 24-36. Ten minutes remaining, all to play for. From the next attack, Dan Thorne threw an outstanding pass to Ben Hurford-John who completed his hat trick of tries. Another successful conversion put Blues within five points of Longlevens. However, try as they might Blues just couldn't find their way over to another score and to the relief of the visitors the final whistle sounded with the score at 31-36.

Well done to both teams for providing a very exciting game of rugby and thanks to everyone who turned up to support the lads. As always, thanks to our sponsors, the referee, Richard James from Hampshire, Louise and her catering and bar team, the coaches, medical team and team managers, Mick Futcher who makes a welcome return to managing Blues and Peter Brown who is helping out with some of the manager's tasks. Also a thank you to Hayden Beale for volunteering to run the line. Hayden is just about to return to Aberystwyth University for his third year and if he returns to Newbury after his studies this young man is one to watch as a burgeoning outside half.

Next week Blues travel to Cheltenham, who suffered a heavy loss on the opening day of the season and who will no doubt be wanting to right a few wrongs from last Saturday. Stags are home to Chipping Norton and as a complete aside it is my very humble opinion that Chipping Norton has one of the most picturesque grounds in the country. All being well that is an away Stags fixture in January that's a must for me.