1st XV make it 5 wins from 5 games.

Craig Coxon - Man of the Match

Buckingham welcomed Windsor back to Floyd Field after Windsor’s relegation into the Southern Counties North this season. Buckingham were looking to remain unbeaten while Windsor, who had won 2 from their past 4 games, were keen to put a stop to Buckingham’s winning streak.

Windsor kicked off and started strong with some solid defensive tackles by their inside centre causing Buckingham’s Matt Hawker to spill the ball for Windsor to win a turnover and apply pressure close to Buckingham’s try line. Windsor’s play was short lived after Matt London turned the ball over for Buckingham who also won a penalty which allowed Max Nagy to clear the lines.

The first 20 minutes saw both sides attack but small errors from the teams meant that neither could turn the pressure into points.
Windsor’s poor discipline allowed Buckingham to play a majority of the game in Windsor’s half. Strong running from Jamie Lee and number 8 Phil Wright gave the home side plenty of opportunities but handling errors and a solid defence from Windsor stopped Buckingham in their tracks.

Buckingham’s backs continued to attack Windsor when a pass was intercepted by the opposition allowing them to break through and gain valuable metres towards Buckingham’s try line. With Buckingham pinned in the top corner the pressure was on their lineout. The throw and catch was spot on but the clearance from Nagy was charged down by Windsor and the first points of the game were added to the score board after 30mins of play. The conversion was unsuccessful but still Windsor took the lead, 0-5.

Buckingham were able to get their first points on the scoreboard after Windsor gave away a penalty at the scrum which became a running theme for the day as Buckingham’s pack had the better of Windsor’s. Nagy slotted the 3 points directly in front of the posts, 3-5.

The last 5 minutes of the half saw Windsor’s back play some fast flowing rugby as they carved through the defence with some nice offloads and they were rewarded with a try under the posted, making it an easy kick for the full 7 points. The half time whistle saw Buckingham trailing 3-12.

The second half started scrappy for both sides with many handling errors, some attributable to the very blustery day. Ed Kinman who replaced Joel Coxon after getting a knee in the back manged to get Buckingham on the front foot with some strong running and yet again the play resulted in Windsor giving away another penalty. Buckingham opted for the corner. The catch and drive lineout attempt was spoilt and Windsor turned over the ball to relive the pressure on them.

Winger Craig Coxon saw a majority of the ball with his darting runs down the touchline and managing to evade Windsor’s defence. With Windsor’s penalty count increasing it allowed Buckingham to kick for the corner. The lineout this time was perfect, with accurate arrows from Seth Williams to set up a powerful catch and drive, which saw Wright, drive over the try line in the corner. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful in the strong autumn wind that had picked up. Buckingham now trailed Windsor 8-12.

Young Guns Craig Coxon and Nagy linked up to punch holes in Windsor’s defence but the final forced offload was spilt forwards. Jamie Lee also forced his way through Windsor’s backs supported by Wright. Windsor’s desperation to turn over the ball saw an intercept attempt turn into a penalty as the referee deemed it as a deliberate knock on.

Buckingham continued to attack and were awarded a penalty about 8 metres from the Windsor try line. Nagy took a quick tap and slung the ball out to flanker Harry Scarr to score Buckingham’s 2nd try and to take them into the lead 13-12, unfortunately the conversion kick went wide.

With 3 minutes remaining Buckingham were awarded a penalty allowing them to put the pressure on Windsor with a lineout on the 5 metre line. The lineout was successful and Scarr was able to get his 2nd try of the game and closing out the win for Buckingham with the final score 18-12. Craig Coxon was Man of the Man.

Windsor will surely be counting indiscipline as the main reason for losing but Buckingham fought hard for the full 80 minutes and that makes it 5 wins from 5 for Buckingham as the Buck-Truck keeps rolling on!