On Sunday 23rd February 2025, Bracknell Under 13s two teams took on Windsor RFC in beautiful conditions, in what was not only the final grup stage match for this years Berkshire Youth Cup, but was possibly a brace of the best matches this season.

The Under 13s kicked off first, against a strong and pacey Windosr "A" squad, in what was to be a 15-try thriller. The opening few minutes saw a battle for control in the middle of the pitch, with no team able to gain control.

A small handling error form Windsor lead to a scrum, in which the Bracknell pack dominated, and quick ball went through the hands, leading to Bracknell dotting down for the days opening score. The restart was well taken by Bracknell, who powered up the field with George Moran seemingly uncatcahble as he broke free for the games next score. A thrid try quickly followed suit with some more Bracknell dominance. Max Shuttleworth bgean to get into his stride and made in roads with strong runs and Freddie Cullity getting the backs moving with some silky distribution. Out wide Charlie Gomez-Baker was showing pace and footwork that kept Windsor guessing and in the middle of the field Freddy Brown was a brick wall in defence. Windsor struck back, with the next two tries and it seemed like the intesity has raised.

The Bracknell reply was a solid one, with Max Wiley putting in some bulldozing advances to knock back the Windsor defence. Freddy Brown then capitalised on a single man breakdown on the Windsor try line, smashing his opponent backwards, picking up the open ball and diving over for a great try. A further try saw Bracknell end half time, 5-2 up. From half time, it was Windsor who started the better of the two sides, taking it to 5-4 before Bracknell hit back to make it 6-4 only for the gap to close once more as the score narrowed to 6-5. Que some Bracknell fitness prowess to kick in. As Windsor tired and slowed, Bracknell kept up the pace and utilisied the advantage of the pitch slope to run in a further four unaswered scores.

A final scoreline of 10-5 sees Bracknell qualify as top of their group for the Cup Semi Final that will be held on the 16th March. The Player of The Match award went to Max Wiley for his brilliant attacking display, tirless work rate and solid defence, throughout the whole match.

The second fixture of the day saw the Bracknell Development squad face Windsor "B". From minute one this match was a physical affair, with the breakdown fiercly contested, the contact zone being an area of huge impacts and the scrum being battled for supermeacy.

Lead by Finley Perryman, Bracknell had to contend with early Widnsor pressure, defending their own try line for the first five minutes, until Windsor managed to cross the line for the opening try. End to end action followed, as Alex Ali used his pace and power to get over the
gain line on multiple occassions. Sebby Pollard put in a proper loose forward performance, being a menace at every breakdwn, while Greg Rys got through a huge amount of work across the field. Gaining some momentum, Bracknell exploited a small gap in the Windsor defence and galloped over to score and level things up at 1-1. With the half time whistle looming, Windsor managed to break the defence and squeeze over in the corner, to lead 1-2.

The second half begun with Zabi Parker-Sillito and Finnley Bond interchanging between the 9 and 10 roles with fluidity, and it seemed to improve things, as Bracknell begun to control possession, all be it, without gaining any real territory. Some handline errors crept in, and Windsor's physicality began to show, as there big runners made ground. Two tries in quick succession came, leaving the scoreline at 1-4. Zabi tried to turn things with some brilliant jackaling of the ball while the appearance off the bench of Austin MacNeill, Oliver Holbrook, Billy Brumpton and Benn Staines, helped improve the balance of the Bracknell team. A yellow card for Windosr should have given Bracknell all the advantage they needed, but they failed to exploit the extra man. Depsite their best efforts, Bracknell eventually came up short and Windsor took home the victory.

The Development Squad have their Semi Final to look forward to, on the 16th March, where they will likely have to travel to face Thatcham.

Player of the match awards went to Cam Weaving, for the forward of the match, for his carries and scrummaging, while Alex Ali took home back of the match award, for his relentless running in attack