Banbury were just about good enough for a scrappy win. Here is the numbers' game. See Tuesday’s paper for full report.
Competition: Midlands 2 East South
Score: Banbury 13, Northampton BBOB 7
Banbury player ratings:
15. David Taylor 7 (some good moments)
14. Andrew Collett 6 (fairly quiet)
13. Guy Sturla 6 (took his try well)
12. Peter Papenfus 6 (didn’t use big boot enough)
11. Jed Boyle 7 (provided creativity)
10. Joe Mills 6 (never dictated play)
9. Eddie Phillips 7 (battled well)
1. Michael Boscott 7 (solid effort)
2. Gary Byott 6 (did his job)
3. Andrew Gilbert 7 (kept going despite nasty cut)
4. Nick Pratt 6 (played his part)
5. David Phipps 6 (got stuck in)
6. Sean Bannister 8 (covered huge amounts of ground)
7. Adam Walsh 7 (sharp display)
8. Simon Brand 8 (STAR MAN, carried with real purpose)
Replacements used:
17. Marc Williams 6 (blood replacement)
Referee: Gary Williams (Oxfordshire) – 6 (some confusing decisions late on)
Entertainment rating: 4.
Highlight: The move for Guy Sturla’s try.
Lowlight: Far too many errors by both sides.
Form guide: Banbury will need to play better to sustain a title challenge.
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