Now down to others results

Witney kick off with the slight wind advantage, Newbury take and clear with a kick from Toby Thorne, Witney counter attack and put the Newbury defence under pressure with several phases of attacking play which ends when Newbury are awarded a penalty. Richard West clears to touch, lineout won the Blues are awarded another penalty which Richard West puts into touch in Witney’s 22. Newbury cough up possession when the lineout throw is ruled not straight giving Witney the scrum and the chance to clear their lines, scrum won Witney kick deep into Newbury territory, Tom Martin takes and sets off on one of his runs back into Witney’s half but Newbury concede a penalty allowing Witney to clear into touch. Witney attack from the lineout through their forwards but lose the ball allowing Newbury to kick up field, Witney run the ball back at the Newbury defence and make good ground progressing up to Newbury’s try line and winning a penalty which just slides past the posts.
Newbury manage to keep possession from the kick off when Alex Millar takes the ball and crunches through a couple of tackles before releasing Toby Thorne who evades several tackles before a hamstring injury stops his progress and puts him out of the game, Witney pick up the loose ball but the clearing kick is straight into touch giving the Blues an attacking lineout, Newbury win the lineout and attack the Witney defence but again lose the ball by conceding a penalty allowing Witney to clear into touch. Toby Thorne has to come off due to hamstring injury Aaron McDowell on. Both sides have periods of attacking play over the next few minutes but mistakes or conceding penalties ends when a Witney attack ends with a penalty kick in front of the posts 3-0, 17 min’s

Straight from the kick off Witney attack and forces the Newbury defence to concede another penalty, which is slotted through the posts 6-0, 19 min’s

Witney knock on from the kick off, Newbury play the advantage and win a penalty that Richard West puts into touch, Newbury win the lineout and another penalty that is again slotted into touch. This time Witney win the penalty and clear their lines but Newbury steal the lineout and a good run from Aaron McDowell then Richard West gets Newbury back into the Witney half. Witney give away a penalty and their number 4 earns a yellow card for a stupid episode leaving Rob Drysdale on the floor for a few minutes. Richard West slots the ball into touch in Witney’s 22, lineout won; Newbury through their forwards mount a concerted attack and cross the Witney try line but great Witney defence holds them up. The Newbury forwards spend the next few minutes battering the Witney defence but are unable to make the final yard and score eventually Witney get a penalty and clear the danger. Newbury lose the lineout and Witney kick deep into Newbury’s dead ball area with some confusion whether the ball is out of play or touched down the ref eventually decides it is a 22 drop out to Newbury. Rob Drysdale off injured Jack Walsh comes on
Witney have the better of the next few minutes and just fail to add the points from another penalty, Newbury have a chance to score when after a penalty they attack from the lineout and a good run from Aaron McDowell is halted when the last Witney defender manages to usher him into touch. From the lineout Witney win a scrum and the ball is kicked into touch to bring the half time whistle.

Newbury kick off the second half and soon have possession back when Witney lose the ball but a knock on hands possession back to Witney, scrum won they attack but a loose pass is into touch, Newbury win the lineout and the forwards rumble forwards allowing Alex Millar to break up field, good support wins a penalty which just misses. Both sides have good spells of attacking play over the next few minutes but mistakes stop progress and allow the defending teams to clear their lines, Newbury get into the Witney half and after a couple of phases win the penalty which Jack Muggridge converts 55mins 6-3

Greg Price comes on for Josh Winfield.
The Witney restart is taken by Newbury and kicked back into their half, Witney run the ball out and win the penalty, which is kicked safely into touch, lineout won Witney keep the attack going but good Newbury defence forces the penalty and allows Richard West to clear into touch. Line out won Newbury kick into Witney’s half, Witney gather and counter attack with a great run from their winger who makes big yardage breaking through several weak Newbury tackles, the ball is kept alive and worked across the pitch to score wide out on their right 11-3 60min’s

Again the match goes through a period of play where both sides make mistakes or give away penalties which halts their attacking play, Josh Winfield comes on for Tom McNamara. Newbury win a scrum and attack through their forwards getting into the Witney half and force the Witney defence to concede the penalty which Richard West steps up and gets over from approx 40 yds, 11-6 70 min’s

Both sides now give away frequent penalties which leads to 5 mins of play swapping from one half to the other this is ended when Witney get into the Newbury 22 and the ball gets passed back to their 10 who drops a goal 14-6 78 mins

Witney attack from the kick off but lose the ball allowing Newbury to mount one final attack with good runs from Tom Martin, Josh Love and Greg Price getting into Witney territory and win the penalty which Newbury decide to kick to get the losing bonus point, as is Newbury’s luck this season the penalty from Richard West hits the post.

This was a physical encounter, with both sides giving their all in the contact area, with the Newbury pack nullifying the strong Witney scrum. Witney took their chance to score the only try of the game and Newbury couldn’t convert the goal line pressure they had on 3 occasions, which ultimately was the difference between the two sides.

Both Buckingham and Cheltenham lost but picked up losing bonus points.

This Saturday Newbury to travel to league champions Oxford who surprisingly lost to Marlow on Saturday, in the Blues last game of the season. A win will secure 10th place; otherwise it will be out of their hand and an anxious wait as Buckingham travel to Witney and Cheltenham travel to Windsor to see how the season will end.

Squad;
Graham STEWART (c), Rob DRYSDALE, Paul SAYERS, Tom MCNAMARA,
Josh WINFIELD, Finn WALSH, Josh LOVE, Alex MILLAR,
Toby THORNE, Richard WEST, Steve DENNER, Joe BINFIELD,
Jack MUGGRIDGE, Jamie FUTCHER, Tom MARTIN.
Greg PRICE, Jack WALSH, Aaron McDOWELL