Burton just come up short!

A tough match was in prospect bearing mind past encounters with an Old Silillians side which enjoyed a handsome win the last time the two teams met. It was a match which was sure to keep a good crowd assembled at the “Croft” fully entertained!

The Bucks once again started the game in similar positive fashion to last week and found stubborn resistance in the visitors’ ranks during the early exchanges. There was, initially, some “sizing-up” taking place in both teams and as a result the early stages of the game were a rather scrappy affair. However the Bucks soon started to enjoy some territorial advantage thanks to some excellent individual play, most notably from Frank Simpson at fly-half, who made a scintillating break, taking play from the middle of the pitch deep into the visitors’ 22metre area. From here the Bucks maintained a bit of a stranglehold for the next few minutes. With about 15 minutes gone, very much against the run of play, an interception in midfield saw an opponent streak clear and more-or-less unopposed scored a try under the Bucks posts. The simple conversion was added and the Bucks found themselves seven points down. (Bucks 0-7 Old Silhillians).

Notwithstanding this and very much to their credit the Bucks came back at Old Silhillians and once again more than matched their opponents. The remainder of the half saw a similar pattern of play, with the Bucks showing a great deal of promise and endeavour. What was missing though was the cutting edge, which proved to be a decisive factor in the final outcome of the game!

At half-time there were a number of changes made by the coaching team and their discussions during the break stressed the need for the Bucks to adopt better structure to their game and turn their pressure into points.

This seemed to be understood by the Bucks in the early stage of the second period when they started very well once again and played with more purpose and pattern than had been evident in any of the first period. Another player that was catching the eye was Isa Cashmore at scrum-half, who equipped himself well all match and was now becoming instrumental in the better patterns of play. He linked well with Elliot Minns, now at fly-half and the Bucks began to threaten their opponents’ line with sustained pressure. They were finally rewarded when play was taken down the narrower left side of the pitch, where Louis Sanders superbly drew his man and timed his pass to perfection for Cameron Gaunt to finish off well in the left corner. The conversion proved too difficult and the Bucks had closed the deficit from seven points to just two. (Bucks 5-7 Old Silhillians).

There was renewed energy in the Bucks play now but their fight back was restricted as a result of poor ball retention. Time and time again good progress was hampered by opponents who displayed better decision making and ball retention, particularly their success in turning over possession. This eventually led to Old Silhillians stretching their lead with a second try in the main stand-side corner. An excellent conversion meant the Bucks now trailed by two scores (Bucks 5-14 Old Silhilians).

However, once again the Bucks showed great spirit and as time seemed to be against them they hit back with a few minutes to spare. A penalty was awarded about 5 metres out and quick thinking by Lewis Sanders saw him drive over the line and score adjacent to the posts. Elliott Minns added the conversion to close the gap to just two points (Bucks 12-14 Old Silhillians).

The final stages of the game saw each side very much cancel one another out and no further score was added when the game ended with the Bucks losing a game they probably deserved to get something out of!

Man of the match for a fine performance was Louis Sanders.