Bracknell 25 pts v Basingstoke 3 pts away 17th March 2007
Report by courtesy of Basingstoke Gazette.

UPBEAT Jim Dixon remains convin- ced Basingstoke will be playing South West One rugby next season, despite their defeat by resurgent Bracknell. A win on Saturday at Lily Hill Park would have guaranteed ’Stoke’s league status – but it was Bracknell, led by ex-London Irish No 8 Chris Sheasby, who instead gave their sur- vival hopes a vital shot in the arm. Victory gave Bracknell 16 points from 20 games to level with Chippenham, who were beaten 44-7 by Weston-super-Mare and slid into the third and final relegation drop-spot Sheasby’s men have been occupying for most of the season. ’Stoke remain four points ahead of both clubs in eighth place, level on 20 points with Oxford Harlequins, who lost 30-19 at home to leaders Mounts Bay. Although that margin should be enough to stay in the division, Dixon’s men need to beat either Weston-super-Mare or St Ives – their final two opponents of the 2006-07 campaign – to make sure.

The ’Stoke director of rugby says he is confident his players can do just that. He said: "It’s as we were really – we just need two more points, either at Weston or at home to St Ives. "Fortunately, Chippenham lost as well, but we don’t want to be getting in the situation where we’re looking at points difference to stay up, because ours isn’t great." He added: "Our fate is still in our own hands and we know what we have to do. The boys will get the win we need, I am sure of that. "I cannot fault their effort today. It was just a little bit of inexperience that came to the fore and our decision making at times reflected that. We put ourselves under pressure. "But we will pick ourselves up from this. There is a lot of work to do in the next two weeks before we go to Weston, but our mind set is still very positive." Going into Saturday’s match in Berkshire, the injury problems that have blighted ’Stoke’s season again hit the side, with Andrew Rowlands, Simon Lovegrove, Jamie Fish, Mike Swenson and Dixon all ruled out. It meant that 16 of the 18-strong squad taken to Bracknell were Basingstoke born and bred, with five 18-year-olds included in a vastly revamped starting 15. And against a wily Bracknell, strengthened by the acquisition of a host of former national league players, signed before the March 1 deadline, such inexperience told. The 40-year-old Sheasby used every trick in the book to slow down the game and Brack- nell’s gritty, strong pack won the game with three catch-and-drive tries. Scored on 11, 29 and 67 minutes respectively, the 19 points secured from the well-drilled forwards – Sheasby got two tries, sandwiched between openside flanker Rudal Aino’s score – and two Ben Nowak conversions, was enough to end ’Stoke resistance. The visiting youngsters fought hard throughout but had only Mike Goodall’s 55th- minute penalty – scored during Matt Oliver’s harsh sin-binning – to show for their efforts. On the occasions ’Stoke got the ball wide, Karl Buttle’s fine running down the wing and Goodall’s incisive burst left them just short of a score. Handling errors and poor chip-and-charge kicks also gifted Bracknell possession. Their inside-centre Nowak took advantage of two first-half infringements to post two penalties as Bracknell led 18-0 at half-time.

Dixon said: "Those 19 points were too easy for Bracknell to get. In the second half, after we’d been defending for long periods, when we had possession and territory in their half and 22, we made rash decisions and tried to run our penalties, instead of kicking to touch and keeping momentum. "In patches, some of the things we’ve been working on in training came off, but it’s difficult to implement in the last part of the field when you’re 22 points down and start throwing the ball around against strong defence."

Stoke: Dave Lambert; Ollie Rogers, Simon Buckland, Myles Rutherford, Karl Buttle; Simon Humberstone, Mike Goodall; Shane Murphy, Jamie Folan, Matt Oliver (rep Neil Young 52min); Ross Stirling, Chris Williams (rep James Saunders 72min); Robbie Northcote, Gareth Patterson, Tom Northcote.