Last minute Jack Muggridge drop goal steals the win

Things got off to a bad start before the kick off with a blow out on Rob Drysdale’s car meaning those with him were late getting to Buckingham and Rob having to sit and wait for his car to be recovered, he eventually got to the ground with 15 minutes of the match left

Buckingham kicked off with the very strong gusty cross field wind slightly in their favour and immediately put the Newbury defence under pressure, Buckingham win a scrum and their larger pack shove Newbury back several yards, ball won their forwards attack Newbury’s defence winning a kickable penalty 25 yds out in front of the posts 3-0, 2mins

Newbury kick off and although the wind stops the ball going 10 yds Buckingham take and play the advantage, passing the ball through their backs they make good ground before a knock on halts their progress, Newbury win the scrum but the clearing kick is straight out, Buckingham return the favour when the line out throw is blown off line. Newbury manage to win the scrum and the ball is fed back by scrum half Toby Thorne to full back Tommy Martin who dodges several tackles and makes good yardage before passing to Jamie Futcher who is tackled just short of the line, the ball is quickly recycled by scrum half Toby Thorne through the hands of Newbury’s backs Jack Muggridge, Joe Binfield and Dan Thorne taking the ball quickly across field allowing winger Mark Spalton to dodge the last tackle and make the final yards to score wide out on the left, the strong wind drifting the conversion attempt just wide, 3-5, 6 min’s.

Buckingham attack from the kick off and put the Newbury defence under pressure through several phases but again the wind plays a part and a pass drifts and is knocked on. Newbury win the scrum and a clearing kick from Jack Muggridge is held up in the wind allowing Tom Martin to take and again break through several tackles before passing to Jamie Futcher who can’t quite make the line before he is caught, Newbury’s support is quickly there and the ball is passed out to Tom Martin who scores wide out on the right the wind again making the long kick virtually impossible 3-10 12 min’s.

Buckingham restart and manage to keep possession, and through their forwards pick and go putting the Newbury defence under pressure but the Blues manage to steal the ball and get to the safety of midfield before a knock on gives Buckingham the ball, playing the advantage they kick deep into Newbury’s 22. The wind takes the Newbury throw sideways giving Buckingham the scrum in Newbury’s 22, from the scrum Buckingham attack but a wild pass halts their progress allowing Newbury to clear their lines by kicking the loose ball up field, the pressure is soon back on the Newbury defence as the ball is sent back into Newbury’s 22 and into touch. Newbury win the lineout and the forwards through George Robinson Slater, Graham Stewart and the Walsh brothers try to march out of defence but Buckingham manage to steal the ball and chip it into touch 2 meters out from the Newbury line, Newbury win the lineout and the forwards slowly march out of defence Jamie Bull, Paul Sayers, Jack Walsh and Josh Love making good yards, Buckingham give away a penalty which Jack Muggridge kicks to touch and the safety of more yards up field. Newbury again manage to defeat the wind and win the lineout but this time the Buckingham forwards are on top and manage to push Newbury backwards before a clearing kick by Jack Muggridge is held in the wind and caught by Jamie Futcher but the ball is stripped by the Buckingham tackler. Buckingham win the ball at the scrum but Newbury manage to turn over possession and try to march up field through the forwards the ball is lost allowing Buckingham to regroup and try to push the Newbury defence backwards the defence holds out and forces a knock on. Newbury manage to win the scrum and the forwards slowly roll up field George Robinson Slater, Graham Stewart and Ben Hicks making good ground before the Buckingham defence halts the maul and hold Newbury up giving them the scrum. Buckingham win the scrum and through their forwards make good ground before a knock on halts their progress, their forwards make amends and win the scrum and the ball is passed through several hands both forwards and backs before the break is made through several Newbury tackles to score close enough to the posts for their number 10 to successfully kick the conversion 10-10 35, min’s

Newbury restart and the kick is taken by Buckingham’s big number 8 who again leads the charge with a robust run breaking a couple of tackles before the Newbury defence manage to drag him to the ground, the ball is fed back to their 10 who kicks into the Newbury 22, Tom Martin takes and kicks to safety on halfway. Newbury steal the lineout but don’t get far before the bigger Buckingham forwards hold them up winning them the scrum, Buckingham win the scrum and attack but lose the ball allowing Newbury to try and get out of defence but a knock on halts their progress. Buckingham win the scrum and attack the Newbury line forcing the Newbury defence to concede a penalty, taking a quick tap and go the Buckingham pressure mounts on the Newbury defence and they win a penalty scrum, some how Newbury manage to win a penalty as the scrum is pushed backwards allowing Jack Muggridge to kick to safety and the half time whistle.

Newbury kick off the second half now with the slight wind advantage, Buckingham take but a loose pass puts them on the back foot and they have to hurriedly kick to touch to avoid being tackled close to their try line. Newbury win the line out and quickly move the ball from left to right through their backs Toby Thorne, Jack Muggridge, Joe Binfield allowing Dan Thorne to hold the defence before releasing the final pass to Tom Martin who side steps the tackle to score close to the posts, Jack Muggridge managing to beat the wind and slot the conversion between the posts
10-17, 42 min’s

Newbury catch the restart and kick to touch, they manage to steal the Buckingham lineout and mount another attack but lose the ball in contact allowing Buckingham’s forwards to try and get up field, Newbury’s tacklers Jack Walsh and Jamie Bull force Buckingham to hold on in the tackle giving the Blues a penalty which is kicked to touch. Line out won Newbury attack and win another penalty, which is kicked to touch. Buckingham’s forwards manage to disrupt the lineout but Josh Love manages to steal the ball back and the forwards drive him over the line but the ball is held up. Newbury win the scrum but give away a penalty for holding on whilst on the ground, Buckingham don’t make touch with the penalty kick and Newbury mount another attack but a loose pass rolls into touch. Josh Bartlett comes on for Mark Spalton.

The wind helps as Buckingham’s line out is not straight but they steal the ball at the scrum and mount an attack with a strong run from their number 8 but after a couple of phases lose the ball when they knock on, Newbury win the scrum and a probing kick from Toby Thorne rolls into touch in Buckingham’s 22, Buckingham win the lineout but a loose pass misses the fullback and puts them under pressure as the chasing Newbury players manage to get possession and attack the Buckingham defence but the strong wind again disrupts play and a loose pass hands possession back to Buckingham. Possession changes hands several more times with out much progress being made by both sides before Josh Love intercepts and breaks through a couple of tackles before the Buckingham fullback tackles him and dislodges the ball giving them a scrum for the knock on, from the scrum in Buckingham’s half they manage to get out of their half through their forwards but again the ball is stolen by Newbury just as Buckingham are looking dangerous and putting the Newbury defence under pressure.
Newbury let their forwards make good ground before another probing kick from Toby Thorne is caught close to the touchline by Buckingham’s fullback who is immediately bundled into touch by Josh Bartlett. Newbury win the lineout and then a penalty which is kicked into touch, this time Buckingham steal the lineout and get back into Newbury’s half and put the Newbury defence under pressure through several phases before a mistake hands possession back to the Blues. The next few minutes are spent in midfield with both sides making little progress before a mistake hands over possession. Robert Drysdale comes on for George Robinson Slater. From a Buckingham lineout their forwards keep the ball tight and their number 8 makes good ground and gets into the Newbury 22 before he is held up, Buckingham keep possession and put the Newbury defence under a concerted period of pressure getting held up just over the line, from the scrum they again let their forwards do the work and after several minutes they mange to cross the line and score close enough to the posts for the conversion to be successful 17-17 with only a few minutes left to play.

Newbury restart and the kick lures the Buckingham player to try and catch it but instead it is knocked into touch deep in Buckingham territory giving Newbury an attacking lineout, Newbury win the lineout and the ball is passed out to Jack Muggridge who turns and drop kicks a low kick against the wind Jonny Wilkinson style which sails through the posts 17-20 39min’s.

There is only time for a couple more phases of play before the ref blows the final whistle.

The game was a credit to both teams the ref and the Buckingham club for getting it played in the wet times we are enduring. Let’s hope both sides manage to avoid relegation and we meet again next season.

Backs man of the match goes to Jack Muggridge whose drop goal wins the game
Forwards man of the match goes to George Robinson Slater

Also thanks again to the travelling Newbury supporters who follow and cheer on this young and young at heart squad in great numbers, the players really do appreciate it

Another really important game this coming Saturday at home against Cheltenham, need another win and 4 league points to help in the fight against relegation

Squad;
Graham STEWART (c), Josh LOVE, George ROBINSON SLATER,
Ben HICKS, Paul SAYERS, Jamie BULL, Finn WALSH, Jack WALSH,
Toby THORNE, Jack MUGGRIDGE, Mark SPALTON, Joe BINFIELD,
Dan THORNE, Jamie FUTCHER, Tom MARTIN.
Robert DRYSDALE Josh BARTLETT, Richard WEST.
Coaches Lee GOODALL and Sam CZERPAK