Old Glynonians kept their unbeaten home record this season by beating Guildfordian Bisons 22-15 at Priest Hill this weekend, writes Chris Justham.

Bisons by name really were Bisons by nature - their front row would have contested a British Lion’s front row in terms of weight!

OGs knew from previous experience the Bisons like to play a very narrow, forward orientated game and, over the 80 minutes, it was hard to recall them managing to move the ball past their inside centre. Glynonians flew out of the blocks; forwards producing quick ball and OGs backs being unleashed at pace in the wide channels.

Bisons struggled to cope with the pace, giving away numerous penalties in fly-half Liam Burns’s kicking range. Burns duly slotted no fewer than five in 30 first-half minutes as Bisons looked way out of their depth. Bisons openside flanker also found himself in the sin-bin after retreating slowly and catching a Tom Webb pass that would surely have seen Glynonian skipper Holmden score under the posts.

The Bisons fly-half then attempted to clear the ball, only to find left wing Mark Godwin, who moved the ball in-field to pacey full-back Otoo.

He went on to beat two defenders, with OGs moving the ball fluidly out of the tackle to find winger Ben Essex flying up the right flank.

He finished well, scoring under the posts and Burns added the extras. From here, though, Bisons' pack got a foothold in the game, after some uncharacteristically sloppy OGs mistakes at the set piece.

This allowed Bisons' mammoth prop forwards to go over for a try each from close range to make it 22-12 at half-time.

Bisons continued with their narrow gameplan, executing some particularly suspect moves from the back of the ruck, with many a supporter grumbling about “truck and trailer” play.

However, OGs' smaller pack showed a lot of character, nullifying their larger opponents in the tight and forcing them to give away a number of penalties.

This allowed Burns to push OGs into the Bisons' 22 on a number of occasions, but Glynonians, after securing good lineout ball, could not complete the last pass at least three times, so were unable to put the game to bed. OGs' defence were combative to the end, preventing any further Bisons scores, apart from a penalty kick.

Vice-captain Freddie Coventry said: “Bisons are the strongest scrummagers in the league and, after the first quarter, in some respects they succeeded in spoiling our platform for creating quick ball for the backs. "However, we already had points on the board by then and I’m really proud of the sheer dog we showed to keep them out and get them on the back foot when their pack began to tire.

"With three league games to go, we have retained our four-point lead at the top of Surrey Four and our sights are firmly trained on that promotion target we set at the beginning of the season.”

Glynonians' next game is a Surrey Bowl quarter-final against Surrey Three club Old Tiffinians, before their final three league fixtures in March and April. See OldGlynonians.org.uk for further details.