Buckby blow Biggy away in final quarter

On a day when the wind played a large part in proceedings Biggleswade had fought back to 22-26 midway through the second half.

But in a devastating last quarter they were just blown away by an avalanche of tries from Buckby.

In the post-match huddle on Firework’s Day they received a rocket from coach Damian White for a poor performance. But the conditions were very difficult for accurate passing and catching with the strong swirling wind taking the ball away from grasping hands.

As Biggy tired, with several players short of match practice, the visitors played some great rugby to score four tries of which any side would have been pleased to get.

Long Buckby started with the benefit of the conditions at their back with a fresh wind and strong sunlight. They threatened to score early but Biggleswade defended well until they ran out of tacklers, letting Buckby in for an opening score.

Biggy struck back. From a lineout between the ten metre line and the opposition’s 22 number eight Michael Hall broke away from a driving maul. Hooker Sacha Heath was in close support receiving the scoring pass seven metres out for his first try in four seasons.

Buckby used the wind to good effect. Harry Worboys playing his first game for the club in just under a year pulled off one try saving tackle when he was the last line of defence at full back.

But he couldn’t prevent Bucky scoring two more tries before the break as Biggleswade just could not cover every threatening move. Turning round just 19-5 down and now with the wind behind them Biggleswade were confident of mounting a serious challenge.

Biggleswade soon cut the deficit as Will Simkins pounced on a dropped ball and swooped in for a try. Luke Haverly’s conversion attempt just grazed the post on the outside as did his next effort.

The third Biggleswade try came from Harry Worboys who had now switched to fly-half to replace Luke Haverly who had taken over from the injured Zak Pates at scrum-half. It was another Michael Hall charge which set up the try for Worboys.

It narrowed the score to 26-22 as Buckby had also added another try after some less than sparkling handling by the Biggy backs. But as Biggleswade harboured thoughts of what might be, the next 20 minutes was all the visitors.

Try as they might, Buckby’s support play on the afternoon was just too good. It didn’t help the Biggy cause losing both second rows although the chunky Kyle Loan and Arran Pickering were on the bench for just such an emergency. Dan Rogers also made his first team debut on the wing.

The visitors ran in four more tries, converting them all to double their score. But Biggleswade had the last word with Michael Hall capping a good return after a two-week lay-off with a try on his own which Luke Haverly converted.

The result sees Biggleswade slip to seventh but they should enjoy the consolation that they put more points on Buckby than any other team by a long way.​

Next Saturday it is a cup week so Biggleswade are without a game. The Development XV take centre stage with a home tie against Fullerians 2nd XV at 2.15pm.

The following week the 1st XV travels to Northampton to take on BBOB who are a place below Biggleswade in the table with a similar playing record.