Four-year losing streak ends as Bletchley beat neighbours Buckingham
The victory came in fine style for Bletchley
Bletchley claimed bragging rights over neighbours Buckingham for the first time in four years with a brilliant 44-24 win under the lights at Manor Fields on Friday night.
Bletchley opened the scoring through Cameron Watkins, who slotted a penalty to make it 3-0 after Buckingham’s defence initially held strong.
Buckingham responded quickly, stringing together an impressive series of phases that brought them to Bletchley’s line, where a quick tap penalty saw them score. However, with a missed conversion, Buckingham only just pulled ahead at 3-5.
Bletchley fired back as Alex Easton made a decisive break, linking with the forwards to set up Sean Denton for a try. Watkins added the conversion, turning the score back to Bletchley’s favour at 10-5.
A relentless string of phases soon saw Bletchley edge into Buckingham’s 22 again, with Watkins executing a pinpoint cross-field kick that found Oliver Comery, who crossed in the corner, extending Bletchley’s lead to 15-5 despite a missed conversion.
The home side continued their dominance, showing off some fine interlinking play. Phil Harman, now on the field, chipped through the defence, and Jordan Murray collected it, offloading to Kai Fagan, who then passed to Harvey Jenkins to score under the posts. Harman’s conversion brought the score to 22-5 at half-time.
In the second-half, Bletchley picked up where they left off. A well-executed lineout maul led to Glen White crashing over the line, though the conversion missed, making it 27-5. Soon after, captain Hugo Govett smashed through Buckingham’s line, tipping to Elliott Hales who danced past defenders for another try, converted by Harman, stretching the lead to 34-5.
Bletchley’s intensity dipped briefly as a slew of yellow cards reduced Bletchley to 14 men for much of the second half allowing Buckingham to capitalize. A well worked try in the corner and the extra 2pts kicked bought the score to 34-10.
Refocused, Bletchley returned fire as John Waite intercepted a Buckingham pass, scoring under the posts with Harman converting to make it 41-10. Harman added a further 3 points from a penalty outside Buckingham’s 22, advancing the lead to 44-10.
Buckingham continued to fight back, notching several well-worked tries, yet ultimately falling short.
Comfortable win for Bletchley 2nds
Bletchley 2nds capped a solid weekend for the club with a high-scoring 52-45 win over Bedford Swifts.
Determined to improve from their last outing, Bletchley came out strong, displaying powerful forward play and seamless teamwork. Early pressure paid off with Goodman’s skillful run to score in the corner, giving Bletchley an initial 5-0 lead.
Bletchley’s forwards, led by Twiselton and Njovana, continued to dominate, allowing Walker to smash through Swifts’ defense for another try, extending the lead to 10-0. However, Bedford quickly countered, capitalizing on a couple of missed tackles to score a converted try, narrowing the gap to 10-7.
With injuries prompting Bletchley to reshuffle, Swifts seized the opportunity to gain the upper hand, scoring two quick tries to take a 10-19 lead. But Bletchley’s winger Dwumfuo soon responded with a sensational solo run from deep in his own territory, scoring under the posts, with Rudkin adding the conversion to close the gap to 17-19.
Just before halftime, Bletchley regained control as Rudkin dodged through Swifts’ defence to score and convert, putting Bletchley back on top, 24-19.
The second-half saw Bletchley continue their momentum, highlighted by a brilliant chip-and-chase from winger Sharrock, who gathered his own kick to score under the posts. With Rudkin converting, Bletchley led 31-19. But Swifts were far from done, answering with two well-executed tries to reclaim a slim 31-33 lead.
Refusing to back down, Bletchley’s Twiselton and replacement hooker Perkins unleashed powerful runs, with Twiselton eventually crossing the line for a hard-earned try. Rudkin’s conversion swung the score to 38-33 in Bletchley’s favor. A beautiful passing sequence then found Dwumfuo on the wing, who blazed past defenders for his second try, pushing Bletchley further ahead 45-33.
Despite Bletchley’s lead, Swifts kept battling, clawing back with a try and conversion to make it 45-40. Swifts continued their relentless drive, managing another try to tie the game late in the second half.
With the game on the line, both teams dug deep, but it was Goodman who delivered the winning blow with a powerful run, fending off two players and touching down a third to score the decisive try. Rudkin’s conversion sealed Bletchley a thrilling 52-45 victory.