An eight try fest for the 1st XV erases away loss last October.

The selected squad was the strongest that BOBBY GRAHAM had chosen during his season and a half tenure and the players responded positively with an almost total domination of the match. From the kick-off, the forwards ran hard and direct whilst the backs did likewise. Clever and accurate touch kicking kept them on the move. In the set scrums, hooker KIERAN PORTER (before being replaced in the second half by DAN TAYLOR) won all his own ball and most of the opposition's, this being repeated when Taylor was hooker, whilst JAMES ORAM and PETER MOULTON were salmon-like in the line-outs. The rest of the pack supported these players whilst SANJAI DEWAN and HARRY EADE orchestrated play around the midfield, with HARRY EADE making strong runs as well as kicking the six conversions.

The first try came when clean ball went out to MATT NICHOLAS made a strong run through the centre to touch down for a try. Minutes later, BE were 14-0 ahead (both tries being converted by HARRY EADE when PETER MOULTON piled through with a typical run. When GLYN BAYLEY picked up loose ball on the half-way line, wide out, he saw the gap in the OM line and attacked it to score the third try (earlier he had been baulked by an OM player when chasing a kick ahead). It was fitting, though that the fourth try, which gained the team the bonus point, was scored by HARRY EADE after he, too, ran strongly at the OM defenders. With all four tries being converted, BE were 28-0 ahead at the break. Game over ? Well, it definitely was ten minutes later, as GLYN BAYLEY scored his second try, after another strong run. Replacement centre, SEAN BLAKE then ran in a brace of tries to give BE a 47-0 lead, after two of the three had been converted by HARRY EADE. BLAKE was through a couple more times but play was called back for other offences. LLOYD MORGAN almost scored on the right wing but his, and his colleague's, efforts in the build-up, were cancelled out by two forwards fighting so it was a case of a yellow card each and non try. When BE were back to full strength, the team put together a strong attack, starting up front and finished by the backs, before ADRIAN TODD went over for try number eight, five minutes from time.

The 1st XV are at home to Bank of England, whom they lost to 12-17 also in October, next Saturday (7th) at 2.30pm.

PGY