What a game! Special win for Banbury Bulls after incredible comeback

Despite being a man down for over half the game, Banbury staged a remarkable comeback to beat Newbury 31-27, writes Alex Inch.

Two tries from Man of the Match, Dan Tooth, as well as some incredible home support helped the Bulls to victory. Jack Briggs, Jacob Turner and Quinten Blythe scored the others, with conversions by James Miller (2) and Ed Phillips.

Dan Brady had been red-carded after his boot made accidental contact with the head of Newbury player.

At 24-27 down with just a few minutes to go, roared on a boisterous crowd, the Bulls dug deep and some lovely play from Miller and Tooth allowed Blythe to scored in the corner. Phillips’ huge conversion from the sideline hit the post but crucially fell through to give Banbury a four-point lead with five minutes left.

Tom Burman was yellow carded at the restart leaving it 13 men vs 15 for the final stages, but Bulls hung on for an incredible victory, sparking rapturous celebrations after something very special.

Head coach Matt Goode went through every emotion: “Elated for the boys,” he said. “To dig in with only13 players at the end was unbelievable.

“We wanted character, we wanted to see what these boys had in their locker. Today showed they’ve got that grit and the character needed to play at the top level.”

And he appreciated the support and scenes at full time: “The crowd were amazing. There were so many minis and juniors here who said they’ve been inspired by that.

“You could hear them all game and then everything at the end, the celebrations, the sheer joy, unbelievable.”

Banbury travel to Marlborough this weekend.