Superb fightback sees Bulls stun Camberley and pick up a crucial success

A brace of tries from Sinamaki Tatofi and a man-of-the-match performance from Tommy Gray helped Banbury secure all five points.

Before Saturday, Camberley had an impressive record of 16 wins and two losses and quickly showed why they’re one of the top teams in the league with two tries in the opening five minutes to give them a 12-0 lead.

The Bulls did well to prevent the visitors from extending the lead and once they got hold of the ball, they looked dangerous.

Tatofi showed a great burst of speed to race over for Banbury’s first points and Ed Phillips converted before kicking a penalty, for which Ben Lovell-Smith was shown a yellow card for Camberley, to make it 12-10 at half-time.

Banbury couldn’t have started the second half any better with another try after just 15 seconds.

The Bulls forced an error and quickly gathered the loose ball. Quinten Blythe was stopped inches short of the line but Tatofi grabbed the ball and squeezed over from a metre out for a converted try.

And two more tries put the hosts firmly in control.

James Miller chipped over the top and Blythe won the race to dive on the loose ball under the posts and he converted his own try to make it 24-12.

The Bulls’ rolling maul has been a weapon all season and, despite two previous efforts being held up over the line, Ian Isham wouldn’t be denied at the third attempt as he drove over with the rest of the pack for a bonus point try, which was converted by Miller.

Camberley started their own comeback when they scored two quick tries to reduce the lead to 31-24 with five minutes left.

But Banbury wouldn’t be denied.

They won a penalty after some great play from Dan Tooth and Miller showed great composure to slot it over and give his team the buffer they needed to guarantee victory at 34-24.

The Bulls held out for the remainder of the game and, eventually, the ball was kicked into touch to bring up the full-time whistle.

It was a remarkable comeback from Banbury as they refused to let their heads drop after being 12-0 down so early on.

They were backed by fantastic home support who played their part in dragging the Bulls back into the match.

Gray, who had to play most of the second half at scrum-half due to an injury to Phillips, was named man-of-the-match but there were numerous other contenders.

The tough games just keep coming for Banbury, however, as they host runaway leaders Wimbledon this Saturday.