Newbury Blues with stand the Witney 1st half onslaught to lead narrowly at half time 10-0 but a second half blitz keeps the 100% record intact with a 53-10 win

Blues travel to old rivals Witney with a squad showing 5 changes to the 18 that won last week due to injury and unavailability, Christian Atkinson making his Blues debut

Blues kick off with the strong cold wind behind them and get hold of the loose ball putting Witney straight under pressure winning a penalty which is kicked to touch, lineout won Blues attack but a knock on halts their progress, Witney win the scrum in their own 22 and run through the Blues tackles getting up to half way, Blues win a scrum at the tackle but hand possession straight back when they knock on.
Blues win a penalty at the scrum, the kick doesn’t find touch but play comes back when Witney’s kick from just outside their 22 drifts straight out, Witney steal the lineout and run at Blues getting back to halfway before putting in a cross-field kick, Blues gather and win a scrum when Witney knock on in the tackle, Blues win the scrum and attack from their own half, Witney intercept a Blues pass but the ref brings play back for a Blues penalty.
Blues kick to touch win the lineout and run at Witney, a knock on halts their progress, Witney play advantage taking play back to half way before being tackled into touch, Witney again steal the lineout and attack getting into Blues half before conceding a penalty at the tackle, Blues tap and go Dan Thorne making a great run taking play up to Witney’s 22 before being stopped, Blues keep the ball live but a pass drifts forwards, Witney’s scrum is reset and this time they get the ball out but a loose pass drifts into touch. Blues win the lineout and put pressure on Witney’s defence, Alex Bancroft slips a pass to Dan Thorne who cuts a great line to go in under the posts, he adds the conversion 0-7 22 mins

Witney restart Blues gather and run, a forward pass gives Witney a scrum in Blues half, Witney win the scrum and take play across the pitch, Blues manage to hold them at the tackle, injury time out and Witney have an attacking scrum, from the scrum Witney attack getting up to Blues 22, again they spread the ball wide getting into Blues 22 but concede a scrum at the tackle. Blues win the scrum under pressure and get a penalty, they tap and go and some good rugby takes play back into Witney’s half but they lose the ball, Witney run a Blues but knock on, Blues win the scrum just in their own half and run at Witney, Blues kick a loose pass into Witney’s 22, they gather and run at Blues taking play across the pitch, Blues steal possession and run the ball, injury time out Witney 10 leaves the pitch, Blues win their scrum and take play left, the ref brings play back for a Witney offside, Dan Thorne slots the penalty 0-10 33 mins

Witney manage to get their hands on their restart kick and get a penalty at the tackle which is slotted into touch deep in Blues half, lineout won their forwards maul before they spread the ball wide, Witney concede a penalty at the tackle Blues slot into touch just in Witney’s half. Witney steal the lineout and run the ball getting into Blues half, Harvey North steals the ball in the tackle, Blues don’t get far before they lose the ball, Witney attack then put in a chip kick over the Blues defence, Blues knock the ball into touch, lineout won Witney attack but a knock on in the tackle by Blues gives Witney a scrum in Blues half, Blues shove Witney’s pack off the ball and win a penalty, Blues play the advantage and some good rugby takes play back into Witney’s half before a knock on gives Witney a scrum.
Witney attack from the scrum then put a kick into Blues 22 Tom Martin gathers and kicks into touch just in Blues half, injury timeout, Witney’s lineout isn’t straight so Blues have a scrum, Blues attack from the scrum and take play into Witney’s half before the mistake comes, Witney play advantage but play is brought back for the Witney scrum, Witney run the ball from the scrum getting into Blues half before kicking out to bring the half time whistle
At half time the players self-assess themselves

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Witney kick off the second half, Blues gather through Josh Winfield and sets off, Rob Drysdale makes more ground before the 2nd row take over Tom Erskine and Kyle Doel charge up the pitch to Witney’s 22, Blues are quick to spread the ball out through the backs Alex Bancroft releases Harvey North who breaks the tackle to score wide out right, the conversion is just short, 0-15 43 mins

Witney restart Blues gather and run the ball, the ball is lost in the tackle Witney gather and attack before a great cross-field kick is gathered by their winger and he runs in to score wide out on their right the conversion is wide 5-15 45 mins

Blues kick off Witney catch and run back at Blues before kicking into Blues half, Blues take and run but a knock on halts their progress just in their own half, Witney win their scrum and run the ball breaking through the Blues tackles but a knock on sees a try scoring chance go begging, Blues win their scrum and take play up to half way, Blues keep the ball live and in a penalty at the tackle, Tom Hunt take a quick tap and Blues are off, some good flowing rugby results in Josh Winfield scoring Dan Thorne converts 5-22 52 mins

Ben Hicks off Stephen Ansell on

Witney kick off Blues catch and run out of defence but good defence from Witney means they manage to steal the ball and counterattack winning a penalty which they kick to touch in Blues 22, lineout won they attack and their forwards manage to maul shoving Blues backwards to score their second try, the conversion slides past the posts 10-22 56 mins

Blues take the restart kick and a good chase is rewarded with a penalty at the tackle, Blue win the scrum and some good phases of running rugby takes play well into Witney’s half, Dan Thorne releases Harvey North and he rounds the defenders to score the bonus point try, Dan Thorne kicks the conversion 10-29 59 mins

Ollie Spanswick on Rob Drysdale off and a pack reshuffle

Blues are now back in their stride and are soon further in front when straight from Witney’s restart kick some good running rugby ends with Max Hayman scoring wide out left the conversion is taken off course by the strong wind 10-34 63 mins

Witney take the restart kick and again Blues take play into Witney’s half, Blues win a scrum when Witney knock on in the tackle, scrum won Blues keep up the pressure and the ball comes out right and Tom Erskine takes the tackler with him to score another good try the conversion hits the upright 10-39 65 mins

Christian Atkinson on James Lewis off

Blues now have control of the game and are able to run through some tired Witney defence, straight from Witney’s restart kick Blues take play through several phases of attacking rugby getting up to the try line where they are finally held, the ref takes play back for a Blues penalty which is slotted into touch, from the lineout Blues forwards maul then release Josh Winfield who runs through the defence to score under the posts, Dan Thorne converts 71 mins 10-46

Witney restart Blues catch and try running out of defence but cough up possession, Witney put Blues defence under pressure until a knock on gives Blues a defensive scrum

Alex Bancroft off James Lewis on 73 mins

Blues win the scrum in their own 22 and run out of defence, Witney force the error at the tackle and get a penalty which they kick to touch, lineout won they attack spreading the ball wide, a loose pass evades their winger and rolls into touch in Blues 22, Blues win their lineout and run out of defence the forwards making good ground before the ball is released to the backs Harvey North releases Toby Pearce who cuts through Witney’s defence to round off a great period of Blues rugby to score under the posts, Dan Thorne adds the easy conversion 10-53 77 mins

Ben Hicks on Tom Erskine off

Blues run the ball back from Witney’s restart kick Josh Winfield making good meters taking play back into Witney’s half, Blues lose possession at the tackle allowing Witney to counter attack getting up to Blues 22, Blues defence holds firm and Witney concede a penalty, Blues tap and go, a knock on gives Witney an attacking scrum, from their scrum Witney again try to make the break trough but are unable to unlock the Blues defence, Witney try a cross-field kick, Blues manage to get hold of the ball but a foot in touch brings the final whistle

A game of two very different halves, a tight low scoring first half which Blues just edge 10-0 is followed by a high scoring second half which Blues dominate 43-10

Good luck to Witney for the remainder of the season

Thanks to the ref who played his part in a good well fought game of rugby

MOM goes to Harvey North
DOD goes to Tom Martin

Newbury Squad
Ben Hicks, Rob Drysdale, James Macaulay, Kyle Doel, Tom Erskine, Ryan Davis, Max Hayman, Josh Winfield, Tom Hunt, Alex Bancroft, Toby Pearce, Dan Thorne, Harvey North, James Lewis, Tom Martin, Stephen Ansell, Ollie Spanswick, Christian Atkinson

Thanks to the fantastic Blues support who travelled in numbers to cheer on the Blues

Thanks to Ian Jack for the great photos, much appreciated

Blues next match is away at Old Centralians Sat 17-11-18, 14-30pm KO

Blues now have 4 tough games with the opposition all being in the top half of the league starting with the away match at Old Cents who beat Marlborough on Sat