The BBC is currently under intense pressure. No comment is best in this report except to say the BBC has been under pressure many times in its existence, none more so than in the 1960's when it decided to introduce a new music station in 1967, Radio One. This was to compete with the pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline and Radio London which were broadcasting off shore. The old BBC Light Programme was deemed to not be satisfying the demand for popular music output amongst younger people so Radio One was born. Another radio station which was competing with the BBC for a young audience was Radio Luxemburg. A bit crackly but very popular and it was this station which first alerted the nation to Keynsham. Horace Batchelor, who lived in the town, used to advertise on Radio Luxemburg and his spelling of the name Keynsham, "spelt K-E-Y-N-S-H-A-M," on the radio became quite famous at the time and put the town on the national map so to speak. Why it resonated who knows but it did to the extent that many baby boomer listeners to Radio Luxemburg back in the day will remember it very clearly.

And so it was on the weekend Blues travelled to Keynsham. A look at earlier results would have shown that Blues drew against North Dorset whilst Keynsham had beaten them by only five points and indeed the first half on Saturday suggested this was going to be a close game. Blues were ahead for much of the half only to concede a try right on half time but only down by two points at the break it was all to play for in the second half. The game started without a touch judge on one side of the pitch much to the annoyance of the home side players who clearly felt they had pushed a Blues attack just into touch from the kick off, which they had, but wasn't picked up by the referee. This was quickly sorted and one of the home coaches took up position with his flag. Keynsham made a strong start to the game and pressured Blues into giving away a couple of penalties which set up a good attacking position for them. From one of these penalties the home forwards took control of the ball and rumbled over for the first try of the match on ten minutes. The missed conversion saw Blues down by five points. From the restart Blues went on the attack and won a number of penalties which were kicked to touch but Blues lineout was disrupted and Keynsham cleared their lines. Blues were then awarded another penalty and this time the decision was taken to kick for goal. Disappointingly the kick was missed but from the restart the ball was collected by Harry Waye Branch who set off down the left touchline, made a great deal of ground and passed inside to player of the match Will Osborne who ran in to score Blues first points. The successful conversion by Dan Thorne put Blues ahead by two points. A word here for Will Osborne. Having converted from centre to back row Will puts in consistent performances week after week and his abrasiveness in standing up to contact and controlled lineout calling is significant in securing much possession. Shoutouts also to Morgan Gray and Euan Baird who both made they Blues debuts on Saturday. Morgan grew in confidence as the game progressed, his one on one defence was good and he showed talent on the ball. Euan came on as a replacement and didn't have chance to show off his speed but he is an exciting player and has the potential to contribute significantly to Blues in the future. Having taken the lead Blues were having a good period of the match and when GRS won a turnover penalty it gave Blues another attacking position. Nothing came of this and the home side were the next to score when they slotted over a penalty to give them a one point advantage. A great Morgan Gray chase from the restart forced Keynsham into making a mistake and with Blues securing possession from the resulting scrum, a no arms tackle on Dan Thorne gave him the chance to nudge Blues back into the lead, which he did with his second successful kick at goal. Blues continued to put Keynsham under pressure and a forward pass to Harry Waye Branch stopped a very promising Blues attack. Soon after, the home side gave away another penalty which Dan Thorne kicked to take the score to 8-13 as half time approached. Blues were stopping Keynsham getting any continuity with their dogged defence winning a number of penalties. Unfortunately Blues lost an attacking lineout and were suddenly under pressure as the home side ran the ball out of defence. This attack was stopped but Blues gave away a penalty and from this position Keynsham put together a very good couple of passes and scored right on half time. The successful conversion made the half time score 15-13 to the home side.

The start of the second half saw a great clear out by Christian Collett, a very good run upfield by Jamie Futcher and some slick interplay by Michael Klichovicz, Dan Thorne and Will Osborne which almost saw Blues break clear but it was Keynsham who were to score first in the second period. Play became a bit frenetic and Blues were now having to do a lot of defending. Under intense pressure there was a knock on in goal which gave Keynsham a five metre scrum from which they scored their third try to take the score to 22-13. Almost immediately Keynsham almost scored their fourth try but knocked on going over. However the pressure continued and the home side were having their best period of the match. The penalty count against Blues was beginning to increase and the scrum was coming under pressure and it was not long before Keynsham secured their bonus point try by exploiting space out wide. At 27-13 the game could have easily gone away from Blues but to their credit they stuck at the task and came back with a try of their own, scored by Jamie Futcher after some good approach play by the forwards and an awareness that the home defence was too narrow. This was spotted by Kliki and Dan Thorne whose combination throughout the game enabled Blues attacking shape to function well. Keynsham had the last word when they ran in for their fifth try to take the final score to 32-18.

As always a huge thank you to those who travelled west for this game, particularly as the eastbound M4 was closed which led to frantic searching for an alternative route home which didn't involve too much of a detour. And what a star the coach driver was, negotiating the back lanes of East Wiltshire and West Berkshire with great skill to get the team home safely and in time to watch the last twenty minutes or so of the England, Fiji game at the club. Well done to England, two from two, with the big one fast approaching. Autumn Internationals. For me jury's out on their worth but for the Governing Bodies it means extra revenue although I would contend it is better to give those elite players a couple of weeks off from playing. Player welfare and all that comes with that.

Next up for Blues is Royal Wootton Bassett two's, home on 22nd November and on that day Stags play Grove away. With lunch at the club and England playing Argentina on Sunday 23rd there's no reason not to come along and give the boys a shout. And if Keynsham hasn't been spelt correctly throughout this report my apologies to Horace.

Brian Lee