Banbury Bulls player-coach Grant Holmes has hailed his captain Sean Bannister, whose tries have propelled them to the brink of the Midlands 2 East South title.

Flanker Bannister has scored 14 tries in 2010, bringing his season’s tally to 17 – a total most wingers would be proud of.

Holmes said: “Sean has always been a player that leads from the front. He works exceptionally hard on both attack and defence.

“His try-scoring feats this year are exceptional.

“I am sure he will be the first to acknowledge the efforts of his teammates to get him over the line.

“He is probably fortunate that being at the tail end of the line-out means he joins the maul last and gets an armchair ride to the try line on many occasions.

“But his overall standard is very high, he reads the game very well and works hard to get himself into a position where chances come his way.”

Banbury need just one more point to win the title after they won on Saturday and rivals Market Harborough lost.

Holmes said: “It gives us the opportunity to secure the league title a week early in front of a home crowd on April 10, but our focus and ambitions don’t change.

“We want to go the rest of the season unbeaten, maintain our unbeaten run at home while also securing a win over Towcester on the final day.

“They are the only side in the league who we haven’t beaten, having drawn our opening game with them back in September.”