Sparkling Ducks rekindle promotion bid with 10-try mauling of Bletchley

Will Travis sprints through the rain to score his third try Picture: Mark Bannister

Victory was never in doubt from the moment of Will Travis’ early try, and with other results going in their favour, the Ducks are back up to third in the Southern Counties North, now just two points adrift of second place.

Speaking afterwards, Aylesbury head coach Jon Lambden said: “There was a definite feeling with this fixture that just aiming to win would not be enough. Having achieved a big win away earlier in the season the performance in itself was also important.

“To fully enjoy the possibilities offered by the AGP pitch requires pace and a 15-man effort. Bletchley came with resolve, pride and a heavy pack so in the first-half we were made to work for 17 points.

“Although the game was a little rushed and scrappy, the line-out was back and the scrum working well. This is our foundation and with it the backs showed willingness to put good attacks together with Will Travis slicing through for the first of his two tries.

“The second-half reflected the dominance of the team with scores coming from both backs and forwards in a pleasing mix of attacks with Ben Dukes getting two from the second row, Nicky Mercer from centre and the back three creating threats wide.

“The name of the game for us now is, especially at home, to keep on developing an integrated 15-man game with a powerful mix of youth and experience. Today we made good strides to that end.”

Travis got the scoreboard ticking with a pair of early tries and that set the tone for the day, although Aylesbury were made to work hard for their points in the first-half.

After Dave Stow missed the first two conversions, Nicky Mercer made no mistake on the third occasion after prop Andy Hackett finished off a drive for a third Ducks try.

The second-half was all one-way traffic from the moment of Ben Dukes’ try which sealed the bonus-point.

Mercer’s conversion made it 24-0 before Dukes bagged his second, followed by two more tries as Peter Gorley and Andy Stobbs both crossed.

The hosts weren’t done there and further tries from Mercer and Gary Horne put the seal on a job well done.

Aylesbury have a week off before visiting fourth-placed Buckingham on February 11.