The pre-match favourites – who finished third last season while Old Centralians languished fourth from bottom – were always under pressure following a slow start and ultimately the failure to keep 15 men on the pitch for a quarter of the game proved costly for Bracknell.

Having won their previous three fixtures against Old Centralians - including two at Painswick Road - Bracknell would have been confident of victory on Saturday, but were stunned by a blistering start from the hosts.

Playing with the advantage of going down hill in the first half, the hosts came flying out of the blocks with captain Liam Fleming kicking two early penalties - in the third and eighth minutes - before full back Rob Jones crossed for the opening try of the afternoon.

With Fleming converting and then slotting another penalty, Old Centralians led 16-0 after just 15 minutes and Bracknell appeared set for a tough afternoon.

At this stage the visitors had barely touched the ball in a display littered with mistakes but they gradually grew in to the contest and hit back in fine style, firstly through a George Milligan try which was subsequently converted by Owain Davies.

With the hosts’ performance levels dropping, Bracknell took a firm grip on the game and another new face - George Owen - then crossed the whitewash following a sustained period of pressure from the visitors’ forwards.

And although Davies missed the conversion from the touchline, he smashed over a long-range penalty with the last kick of the half to close the gap to 16-15.

However, any momentum Bracknell had built up before the break was swiftly derailed when debutant Pete Austen was sent to the sin bin.

With the Old Centralians forwards becoming increasingly dominant, the hosts were able to retain possession for long stages and barely gave Bracknell a sniff of a chance until the final seconds of the contest.

And things went from bad to worse for the visitors as Ryan Townsend scored a second try for Old Centralians to extend their lead, with Fleming’s conversion making the score 23-15.

Bracknell’s frustrations were evident and they received a second yellow card when Kim Plant struck an opponent in front of the referee, earning himself a 10-minute breather for his ill discipline.

And two further Fleming penalties pushed the lead out to 14 points before Bracknell bagged a late consolation try.

However, with the conversion missed the Lily Hill men failed to register a bonus point despite out-scoring their opponents by three tries to two.

Bracknell will be looking to get their campaign up and running when they play their first home game against Old Patesians this Saturday (3pm ko).

That fixture will be preceded by the Berkshire Vets cup final between Bracknell Bulls and Reading Rhinos (1pm ko).

Bracknell U14s endured mixed fortunes at Guildfordians in their opening games of the season.

Bracknell B were unlucky to lose in a very tight game, while the A squad were in dominant form in a 29-10 victory.

In the B fixture, four players made their debuts and, after an hour’s play, they lost 12-7 to a try in the corner in the final minute. Bracknell opened the scoring when captain Lewis Newman stole possession and fed fly-half Josh Johnson who touched down before kicking the conversion for a 7-0 half-time lead.

Playing up the slope, Bracknell were forced to defend for large periods of the second half and Guildfordians took advantage with two tries of their own, one of which was converted, to seal the win.

The A team also had the advantage of the slope in the opening half and made full use of it with a brace of tries from Josh Zeller plus further scores from Kyle Bruwer, Kane O’Leary and Sam Faulkner.

Captain and outside-half Matt Dalrymple added two conversion for a 29-0 lead at the break.

Despite not being able to add to the score sheet in the second half, the Lily Hill youngsters restricted the Guildfordians players to two tries and the satisfaction of a job well done.

Special praise was reserved for the Bracknell pack who played unchanged for the whole game after injuries and school commitments meant six regulars were unavailable for selection.

Bracknell U14s coach John Castle said: “We looked quicker, sharper and more match ready than at any other time I can remember. The pre season work has clearly paid off.”