Bulls blow Salisbury away to close gap on top two

Banbury Bulls have closed the gap on the top two in the promotion race.
Matt Goode saw Banbury Bulls close the gap on the top twoMatt Goode saw Banbury Bulls close the gap on the top two
Matt Goode saw Banbury Bulls close the gap on the top two

Matt Goode’s boys recovered from a lack-lustre first half to beat Salisbury 45-7 in Saturday’s Wadworth 6X South West One East fixture at the DCS Stadium where James Jennings and Dan Brady each bagged a brace of tries.

Struggling Salisbury included former Banbury player Angus Johnson in their starting line-up while Bulls, who had to make eight changes to the squad that drew 6-6 at Royal Wootton Bassett, were forced into two more early changes. Liam Lloyd suffered ankle ligament damage and Caleb Shepherd pulled up with a hamstring strain.

Salisbury broke the deadlock with flanker Johnson driving his way over from a metre out and Nicholas Wotton added the extras.

Going behind seemed to kick Bulls into gear. Ed Phillips made a brilliant run to break into the Salisbury 22 before passing inside to Keiran Fitzgibbon who touched down under the posts.

Phillips converted and Bulls soon took the lead when the pack won a penalty after Salisbury collapsed a rolling maul and Alex Caviezel Cox reacted sharply with a quick tap-and-go. Some slick hands from Bulls ended with Brady diving over in the corner.

Salisbury piled on the pressure before halftime but the Banbury defence was up to the challenge.

Brady scored his second try of the game early in the second half. Some fancy footwork out wide saw Brady beat two men before finishing with a lovely one-handed diving finish.

Straight from the restart Bulls secured a try bonus point. Salisbury kicked deep but Bulls ran the ball back hard and Brady broke down the left wing before finally drawing the opposition full-back and passing inside to Jennings who went over and Phillips converted.

Joel Thomas came on for his debut early in the second half and had an instant impact, ripping the ball from his opposite number to turn the ball over. The backs countered quickly and Brady chipped the ball inside for Jennings to score and Phillips converted.

Bulls increased the lead when centre Duncan Leese timed his run perfectly to be the quickest to react to a chip over the top from Phillips to go over.

Phillips converted before Thomas rounded it off. From just inside the Salisbury half, the flanker broke through multiple tackles before touching down under the posts and Phillips again converted.