Bucks reach regional semi-final!

Match report by Bucks reporter Rob Nesbitt.

Following their success in the County cup final against Lichfield two weeks ago, Bucks were handed a long away trip to Newark for this Regional quarter final tie. The news on our opponents suggested that they have a large set of forwards and the team were prepared for a tough encounter. Playing on an excellent surface was an advantage for the Bucks team and one that was exploited to the full as the game progressed.

Newark kicked-off with a chilly breeze in their favour and lived up to their pre-match billing putting a rather tentative Bucks team under significant immediate pressure. The opponent’s game plan as expected was to use a forwards dominated approach and their big strong pack enjoyed most of the possession in the first 10 minutes or so. The Bucks announced their intention to provide stubborn resistance in the first couple of scrums with Jack Sharratt standing in at prop doing a fine job. The Bucks back row was coping admirably with the opponents’ power and possession and although play remained deep in their own territory, a score did not result during this time.

However Bucks then suffered a real blow when captain Christian Todaro was yellow carded, very harshly it seemed for closing off the ball. Shortly after this, despite excellent defensive work the pressure proved too great and the Bucks conceded a try after 11 minutes. This was not converted (Newark 5-0 Bucks).

The character of the Bucks team was now to be really tested and once again they did not disappoint. They managed to start securing some possession and gained some territorial advantage for the first time in the game. To their great credit, the team hit back and levelled the scores with a well-taken try after about 20 minutes. A penalty close to Newark’s line was moved quickly through the backs hands and Alex Nesbitt did well to score a good try wide on the left. The conversion proved too difficult against the breeze (Newark 5-5 Bucks). So even with one man down the Bucks had managed to get back on level-terms!

The scoring was now done for the first-half but there were some big plus points that the Bucks team could build on for the rest of the game. Every time the ball was moved wide there seemed to be a threat to the Newark defence. There was also significant ground gained by a combination of good team play and individual skills – most notably Ed Wainman who enjoyed two very good runs. Also the big Newark pack appeared to be tiring towards the end of the half! Much of the credit for this must go to the Burton pack and their will not to concede ground, making big tackles and competing ferociously in the rucks and mauls.

Bucks kicked-off the second half and the pattern of the game seemed to be continuing in the same way as the first period, certainly for the first 10 minutes or so. The best try of the day soon followed when the Bucks had earned the right to go wide with a move that started on the Newark 10 metre line. Great forward work ensured the ball was won on a number of occasions and the time was right to let it go to the backs. Alex Nesbitt made a crucial break through the defence line, and although well tackled, he managed to keep the ball alive, linking with the supporting full-back, Tom Hamlett, who gleefully finished off the move by running round the covering defence and scoring close to the posts. Frank Simpson added the conversion to extend the lead further (Newark 5-12 Bucks).

The Bucks now had the taste for victory and became more dominant than at any other time in the game. Play was now concentrated in the middle of the pitch and the Bucks forwards seemed to have muted the power of their opponents through sheer guts, determination and ferocious tackling, rucking and mauling. Ed Wainman, playing on the wing was not to be outdone though and he produced what was probably the ‘tackle of the day’ on the Newark centre who quite frankly did not know what had hit him!

With about 7 minutes left to go and the Bucks managing to keep a firm stranglehold on the game a significant score occurred. A penalty was awarded to the Bucks when a now desperate home defence infringed once too often and Frank Simpson calmly stroked the ball between the posts to increase the advantage to greater than one score (Newark 5-15 Bucks).

Still the Bucks kept up the momentum and threatened the Newark try line. A good move down the left side of the pitch saw the ball arrive in the capable hands of Louis Sanders, who scored the final try of the game in the left hand corner. The conversion was once again too demanding (Newark 5-20 Bucks).

The remaining couple of minutes were calmly run down and the final whistle blew signalling a great victory for the Bucks, who can now look forward to the regional semi-final in two-weeks. Captain Christian Todaro named man of the match as Eddie Nicholls for an excellent display at scrum-half.