Bicester were simply magnificent, playing outstanding rugby all day to complete the double of County 15 a side and 10 a side Cup wins. Stuart did a great job of utilising the full compliment of 15 players, the players showed our strength in depth as substitutes fitted seamlessly in without once weakening the quality or disrupting the shape of the 10 on the field. Well done to all.
Some of the tries in the pool matches were pretty much perfectly executed, with memorable scores against Wallingford and Henley involving very good handling and running lines from the backs. The forwards were equally impressive, very good in the scrum, tireless in the loose with a special mention for Cameron, and some terrific tries to boot.
The Final was a repeat of last season against defending champions, the talented Chinnor. The atmosphere was electric. The players from both sides fought through the tiredness that was apparent to put on a great match, played once again within a spirit of friendly rivalry and respect for one another. Chinnor led 7-0 at half time with Ollie Wingfield burning down the left wing to score under the posts to the delight of the home supporters. But Bicester showed great resolve and took the game to them in the second half. Bicester calmly ran a penalty in midfield and fed Antony Iveson who broke the line and popped to Dan Rowland, Dan in turn fed Cameron Fortin-Smith whose skillful reverse pass back to Dan gave him the line to power through to score. Dan thwarted a second attempt from Ollie W, this time slamming him into touch. With the scores tied and extra time looking likely, Chinnor infringed again and were punished. James Grosvenor tapped to himself and kicked over to the right hand side, having been tipped off that a prop and second row were defending that side, James sprinted through and collected a kindly bounce to score the winner under the posts, James was mobbed by his teammates as Dan slotted the conversion and the final whistle went.
Captain Henry Gayler lifted the trophy to a hearty three cheers from the Chinnor lads who were very sporting in defeat, once again underlining the friendship and respect between these two super teams.
The Stats:
Six wins from six games, 26 tries scored (far too many to describe), 164 points for and only 24 against, 11 of 15 players scoring tries reflecting the level of teamwork displayed and the variety of attack executed, and a notable individual tally of 60 points for Dan Rowland. Creditably, Bicester did not concede a single penalty in the last four matches.
The Results:
Pool Match 1 – Bicester 17 v Banbury 10
Try Scorers: Dan Rowland (2) and Conor White
Conversion: Dan Rowland
Pool Match 2 – Bicester 26 v Walingford 0
Try Scorers: Dan Rowland, James Grosvenor, Antony Iveson and Henry Gayler
Conversions: Henry Gayler (2) and Dan Rowland
Pool Match 3 – Bicester 55 v Chipping Norton 0
Try Scorers: Tom Burrell, Cameron Fortin-Smith, Antony Iveson (2), Mats Venning, Ed Mawdsley (2), Chris Nourse and Will Allen-Miles
Conversions: Mats Venning (5)
Pool Match 4 – Bicester 38 v Henley 0
Try Scorers: Henry Gayler (2), Dan Rowland (3) and James Grosvenor
Conversions: Dan Rowland (4)
Semi Final – Bicester 14 v Oxford Harlequins 7
Try Scorers: Dan Rowland and Chris Nourse
Conversions: Dan Rowland (2)
The Final – Bicester 14 v Chinnor 7
Try Scorers: Dan Rowland and James Grosvenor
Conversions: Dan Rowland (2)
