Following last week’s home defeat, Bletchley were keen to put in a much-improved performance, right a few wrongs and, most importantly, come away with maximum points.

From the opening whistle, the visitors looked determined to make their intentions clear.

Bletchley started strongly, winning an early lineout before spinning the ball wide through the backs. The move eventually found its way into the hands of centre James Marklew-Brown, who powered through the Risborough defence and dotted down for the opening try.

Bletchley continued to apply pressure and soon found themselves deep inside the Risborough 22. A knock-on handed the visitors a scrum, and from a clean strike Bletchley attacked down the blind side, drawing in the home defence. The ball was quickly recycled and moved back the other way through a forward pod before the backs were unleashed once again. Marklew-Brown finished the move brilliantly, crossing for his second try of the afternoon. Kyle Gibbings added the extras to make it 0–12.

Bletchley continued to build momentum and worked their way back up the field. A lineout in the Risborough half provided another opportunity to attack, and a well-executed driving maul saw the visitors creep ever closer to the try line.

The ball was eventually worked wide and into the hands of fullback Kyle Gibbings, who powered over to score Bletchley’s third try. Gibbings converted his own try, extending the visitors’ advantage to 0–19.

Risborough regrouped and began to show some attacking threat of their own. Their scrum proved to be a real weapon throughout the afternoon, and it was from this platform that they got themselves on the scoreboard.

A turnover scrum gave Risborough possession, and the ball was picked from the base and they darted down the blind side and over the line. The conversion was successful, bringing the score back to 7–19.

Bletchley responded positively, restarting the game and working their way back into the Risborough half. An infringement from the home side presented the visitors with a penalty, which Bletchley kicked to the corner in search of another attacking opportunity.

The lineout was taken cleanly and the driving maul got moving, rumbling towards the Risborough line. With the defence committed, the ball was eventually released wide and into the hands of Ollie Comery, who crashed over to add another try to Bletchley’s tally. Gibbings again made no mistake from the tee, taking the score to 7–26.

Risborough responded by working their way into the Bletchley 22, and some poor discipline at the breakdown handed the home side a penalty. Risborough opted to take the points, narrowing the deficit to 10–26 at the interval.

Bletchley came out strongly after the restart and once again established themselves in the Risborough half. Another lineout provided the platform, with the ball taken off the top and spun wide.

Hudson, Lawrence and Allen all carried strongly, making valuable yards and keeping the Bletchley attack moving forward. Eventually, the ball found its way back into the hands of Marklew-Brown, who powered over in the corner to complete his hat-trick.

The conversion attempt drifted wide, leaving Bletchley with a 10–31 lead.

However, discipline began to let the visitors down as the game progressed, with a flurry of yellow cards see Jamie Rice and Josh Aris leaving the pitch reducing Bletchley to 13 men.

Risborough took full advantage of the numerical advantage. A scrum inside the Bletchley 22 provided the opportunity, and a powerful shove from the Risborough pack saw the Bletchley scrum buckle. The referee awarded a penalty try, giving the home side seven points and bringing the score to 17–31.

Despite the late pressure and a difficult spell with 13 men, Bletchley held firm and saw out the remainder of the game.

When the final whistle went, it was the visitors who came away with a well-earned bonus-point victory, winning Risborough 17–31 Bletchley.

After last week’s disappointment, Bletchley will be pleased to have responded with a much more positive performance, scoring five tries and securing the points on the road.