Bill Beaumont Cup - Oxfordshire v Eastern Counties

📆 11th May 2024 - 🕣 3pm KO - 📍 Banbury Rugby Club - Oxfordshire 🆚Eastern Counties 

With the league season all done and dusted, its now time for three games in three weeks in pool 3 of the Bill Beaumont Division 2, Eastern Counties where joined by East Midlands & Warwickshire in their group, today the side travelled to Banbury Rugby Club for their opening fixture against Oxfordshire, a straight forward trip, over to Milton Keynes, Buckingham and then across country roads to arrive at Banbury without coming across the town center. 

Eastern Counties choose their squad of players from Saffron Walden, Ipswich, St Ives, Shelford, West Suffolk, Wymondham, Ely, Cantabs & Mildenhall & Red Lodge for this opening fixture

The game started with the home starting brightly and pinning Eastern Counties back, the first try came after 10 minutes as the home County dived over the line to score, with the conversion added they opened a 7 point lead, a penalty for EC gave them a chance to pulled some points back from the restart, Jake Alsop stepped up to slot the ball home, a error from the restart handed the ball straight back to Oxon, with a scrum deep in EC half, Oxon kept the ball from the scrum to score, pretty much in the same error as the first, with the conversion added to lead 14-3.

Another penalty for Eastern Counties handed Alsop the ball to close the gap once more, again Alsop was able to slot the ball home, Eastern Counties slowly started to get hold of the game, pinning Oxon back, but despite this it was the home county that scored the next try, from a line out that was fumbled by Eastern Counties, Oxfordshire punted the ball forward across the touch line, from the resulting drop line kick out, Oxon picked up the kick and scored the third try under the posts, with the conversion added,

As half time approached the home county scored again , this time in just inside the corner, leaving a difficult conversion which they were unable to convert to lead at half time 26-6.

Second half and an early break for Eastern Counties to get some points on the board with another penalty, with Alsop once again slotting home,  but any chance of a Eastern Counties second come back soon was halted as Oxfordshire hit back with another try, with the overlap on the right, it looked like the winger thrumbled the ball before touching down over the line, but the official gave the try, the conversion was missed. 

From a line out Eastern Counties win the ball and spread the play out wide, a dive over the line enable their first try to be scored, with the conversion added, the lead was 31-16, back came the home county as the scored from the restart under the posts, to leave a simple conversion, the home county wasn't finished with yet another drive with seven minutes left on the clock, but again they were unable to add the conversion, Oxfordshire of the 80 minutes were first to loose balls, and stronger in the tackle, and scrum.

As the game went into 80 minutes there was still time for a try, again Oxfordshire going in under the posts to leave a simple conversion, to top the 50 point marks, deep info injury time and the home county was down to 14, from the resulting penalty Eastern Counties crossed over to score their second try, with Alsop adding the conversion on the strike of full time.

With the game ending in defeat, for Eastern Counties where next week they travel to face Warwickshire, who also opened with a defeat.

Once I'd sent off some photos back to Eastern Counties HQ I packed the car up and headed back to Cambridgeshire, at the first the same way as i came, but as I got back to the A43 the sat-nav sent me towards Northampton, and back up the M1 to Milton Keynes, but I decided to ignore Doris on the SatNav and headed for home, the way i knew which was straight forward.