Blues first half woes

BRACKNELL 26 v 21 NEWBURY BLUES

Blues first half woes
Saturday 7th Dec 2019, 2-15pm KO South West Premier

Blues give away 20 unanswered points to 14-man Bracknell in the first half, but nearly get the victory with a much better second half display

Blues are forced into several changes including one on Saturday morning for this match due to injury and unavailability

Bracknell kick off this Berkshire derby, Blues get a quick penalty when their player is taken out in the air, Blues kick to touch win the lineout and soon have another penalty which is kicked to touch, Bracknell steal the lineout and kick Blues gather and run the ball taking play across the pitch but not making much progress, Bracknell take a Blues player out with a shoulder charge at the ruck and gets a red card 5 mins, this changes the game and Bracknell have to put in a huge effort which results in them having a big first half
Blues kick the penalty to touch in Bracknell’s half and win the lineout a neat Dan Thorne grubber kick is slotted through the Bracknell defence, a good chase by Tommy Martin nearly gets the first try instead Bracknell knock the ball off his arm and into touch giving them a 5m lineout. Bracknell win their lineout and kick clear Blues gather and attack but the ref rules a forward pass giving Bracknell a scrum close to halfway, scrum won Bracknell attack and some good interplay results in them breaking through the Blues defence to score and convert 7-0 10 mins

Blues restart Bracknell run at Blues who concede a penalty at the tackle, Bracknell win the lineout and take play into Blues 22, Blues defence just hold them out, Bracknell put in a cross field kick and gather, another kick is sent across the pitch but Blues get a penalty for offside which is kicked to touch, lineout won Blues run at Bracknell before another grubber kick is sent into Bracknell’s 22. Bracknell gather and kick into Blues half Blues knock on, scrum won Bracknell attack getting a penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch in Blues 22, Lineout won Bracknell’s forwards maul making the final yards to score 12-0 19 mins

Blues kick off, Bracknell gather and return the kick into touch still in their own half, Blues win the lineout and run the ball but lose possession in the tackle, Bracknell kick deep into Blues half, Blues clear to touch, Bracknell win their lineout and take play across the pitch then back before a knock on gives Blues a scrum in their own half, scrum won Blues kick clear, Bracknell gather and spread the ball wide getting a scrum when Blues knock on in the tackle, scrum won Bracknell attack and get a penalty at the tackle, injury time out, Bracknell kick the penalty 15-0 28 mins

Blues take the restart kick Bracknell kick to touch own 40m line, Blues win their lineout but a knock on gives Bracknell a scrum in their own half, Bracknell get a penalty at the scrum they tap and go taking play deep in to Blues half before putting in a crossfield kick and a good chase results in Blues hurriedly kicking to touch, lineout won Bracknell take play across the pitch and a long pass results in opening up the Blues defence to score wide out 20-0 33 mins

Alex Millar on Ollie Spanswick off

Blues kick off is straight out so back for a Bracknell scrum, from the scrum Bracknell take play into Blues 22 and soon have a penalty and Blues a yellow card, Bracknell kick to touch win their lineout and put pressure on Blues defence, Blues get a penalty at the tackle which is cleared to touch, lineout won Blues run the ball but don’t get far before a knock on gives Bracknell a scrum just outside Blues 22, Bracknell spread play wide from the scrum but are tackled into touch, Blues win their lineout and run out of defence getting a penalty

Alex Millar off (head) Ollie Spanswick on

Blues kick to touch win the lineout and run at Bracknell getting into their half before the ref deems a forward pass, back for a Blues penalty, the kick fails to find touch allowing Bracknell to kick clear and the half time whistle is blown

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Tom Hunt off Tom Fieldsend on at halftime

Blues kick off the second half Bracknell return the kick, Blues attack taking play into Bracknell’s 22 before a loose pass allows Bracknell to clear to touch, Blues win the lineout and run at Bracknell but concede a penalty at the tackle, Bracknell’s kick doesn’t find touch allowing Blues to take play back into Bracknell’s half before being tackled into touch, Blues back to 15 players
Bracknell get a free kick from the lineout and kick deep, Blues clear to touch, Blues steal the lineout and take play into Bracknell’s half before a neat Tom Fieldsend kick rolls into touch in Bracknell’s 22, lineout won Bracknell clear to touch, Blues attack from the lineout but concede another penalty at the tackle which Bracknell kick to touch.
Lineout won Bracknell maul but a knock on halts their progress Blues win the scrum and run the ball a neat chip kick and gather by Dan Thorne earns Blues a penalty for a high tackle, Blues kick to touch, lineout won Blues attack but Bracknell manage to intercept and take play back into Blues half, a knock on halts their progress

Kyle Doel off George Anderson on 53 mins

Blues get a penalty at the scrum, they tap and go taking play across the pitch, Chris Bird makes ground draws the tackler and releases Jamie Futcher who takes play up to Bracknell’s 22 before a long pass inside to Tom Fieldsend who is tap tackled short of the line, Dan Thorne is there in support and he is over to score a good try under the posts and convert 54 mins, 20-7

Bracknell kick off deep Blues clear to touch still in their own half, Bracknell win their lineout and maul, Blues manage to hold them up getting a scrum, Blues win the reset scrum and get a penalty, Blues play the advantage but the ref brings play back for the penalty which is kicked to touch, scrum won Blues put pressure on Bracknell’s defence getting a penalty scrum in Bracknell’s half, Blues win the scrum and quickly spread the ball wide through their backs allowing Tommy Martin to run the touchline to score, Dan Thorne kicks the long conversion 62 mins 20-14

Blues are now back in the game and looking far better than they did in the first half, Bracknell kick off Blues gather and run at Bracknell before a chip kick is put over their defensive line, Bracknell gather and get just in Blues half getting a dubious penalty, the long kick sails over 23-14 65 mins

Blues restart, Bracknell clear to touch, Blues win their lineout and take play across the pitch before an angled kick just evades Tommy Martin and bounces into touch in Bracknell’s 22. Bracknell lineout throw isn’t straight so Blues have an attacking scrum, Blues shove Bracknell back and Bracknell get a penalty which they clear to touch on half way, lineout won Bracknell’s forwards maul and get a penalty when Blues are deemed to have collapsed the maul. Bracknell kick to touch win the lineout and spread play across the pitch luckily a knock on when they should have scored gives Blues the ball, Blues play the advantage and run out of defence before kicking into Bracknell’s half, they run back at Blues and get a dubious penalty at the tackle again the long kick is successful, 26-14 73 mins

Blues kick off long Bracknell run the ball getting another penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch on half way, lineout won they spread the ball wide, a loose pass bounces just right for Tommy Martin who gathers and is gone sprinting the 40m to score under the posts, Dan Thorne converts, 26-21 76 mins

Aaron Johnston off Tom Hunt on

Bracknell wander up to take the restart kick, Blues gather and run taking play across the pitch and back through several phases and back up to halfway getting a scrum, scrum won Blues get into Bracknell’s half before a forward pass halts their progress, Bracknell use all the tricks to waste time collapse the scrum which is reset then collapse it again going backwards strangely getting a penalty, which is eventually kicked to touch, lineout won they get another penalty which brings full time

Blues pay the price for a poor first half performance but get back from a 20-point deficit to get a losing bonus point, Blues give away far too many penalties which costs them dear

Good hard local Derby, can’t wait for the return at Monks Lane

MOM Tommy Martin
DOD Adam Neal

Newbury Squad
Ben Hicks, Rob Drysdale, Aaron Johnston, Kyle Doel, Adam Neal, Jack Walsh,
Ollie Spanswick, Josh Winfield,
Tom Hunt, Dan Thorne, Jamie Futcher, Chris Bird, Toby Holland, Tommy Martin, Toby Thorne
George Anderson, Alex Millar, Tom Fieldsend

Blues next fixture is Sat 14th Dec home v Brixham 3pm KO, a tough game in prospect as Brixham have won 4 and drawn 1 of their last 5 games, a game Blues need to win