BackSat 19 Mar 2022
Lichfield
1st XV
26
23
Burton Lose Out In Tight Final
Robert Nesbitt20 Mar 2022 - 15:20
Disappointing Performance As Lichfield Claim Cup Victory
Burton and Lichfield met in this final at Stafford RFC with both teams in fine form - Burton having claimed the scalp Midland Premier League leaders Newport (Salop) last week and Lichfield being unbeaten all season in the Midlands 1 (West). All games between these two sides are closely contested and this was no different with Lichfield looking to equal Burton’s 5-times winners record since 2010. The game was played on Stafford’s synthetic pitch and the talk amongst the supporters prior to the game was which team would adapt best.
Burton started the game with the strong breeze in their favour and showed great defensive work as Lichfield looked to run the ball out of their own half. Burton soon turned over possession and drew the first penalty from Lichfield for holding on. A good kick to the corner followed by a solid catch and drive from the forwards looked like the first try had been scored but the referee was unsighted and awarded Lichfield a drop-out from under their own posts with just 3 minutes gone. Lichfield were immediately under pressure as the drop-out went directly into touch for a Burton throw on the 5-metre line. A well-executed catch and drive from Burton and it seemed inevitable Burton would open the scoring when the pick and go move was halted by a somewhat hasty holding on decision. James Davies stole the line-out throw but was thwarted by the third holding on decision.
Lichfield were able to clear to the 10-metre line and it was clear the game would be keenly contested once again on the evidence of the first 6 minutes or so. Lichfield then had a short period of continuous possession, where they made their way slowly up to the Burton 22-metre line and through good handling managed to score the game’s first try in the left corner after 9 minutes. The difficult conversion was unsuccessful, but Lichfield led. Burton 0-5 Lichfield.
Burton’s defence was strong once again as Lichfield could only make their way up to the 22-metre line from the re-start. Burton then forced a knock-on in the central part of the pitch and from the resultant scrum they totally over-powered their opponents and were awarded a penalty in front of the posts, which bunting duly converted to reduce the deficit to just 2 points. Burton 3-5 Lichfield. Almost immediately after Lichfield re-started the game Burton were awarded another penalty which was taken quickly by Chaz Bunting who found Jack Neal in support to score Burton’s first try of the game. Bunting was successful with the conversion so Burton were in the lead after about 17 minutes. Burton 10-5 Lichfield.
The re-start from Lichfield went straight into touch so Burton were awarded a scrum on the half-way line but it was Burton who were adjudged to have pushed too early. Burton once again looked solid in defence as Lichfield struggled to get out of their own half. When Burton again had possession, Lichfield were penalised for a high tackle on the10-metre line. Jamie Dutton took play back into the Lichfield 22 metre line with a great touch kick on the right. Burton then mounted a series of phases with Josh Kent making good headway in the loose play and were again awarded a penalty in front of the posts. Bunting converted and Burton’s lead had increased after 25 minutes. Burton 13-5 Lichfield.
Burton continued to use the breeze to good advantage with box kicks being spilt by Lichfield. Good phase play from Burton helped them get into the danger zone on the right again but this came to nothing as possession was lost somehow at the 5-metre line! From here Lichfield made their way up to the Burton 22 metre line rather more easily this time but great Burton defence forced another holding on penalty. There were handling errors a plenty from both teams in the difficult conditions and it was from one of these that the next score was built. Burton were guilty in the centre of the pitch and Lichfield then awarded a scrum penalty and kicked well into the Burton “22”. As Lichfield moved the ball well to the right the referee signalled that the ball had been held up by the Burton cover defence. However, following a discussion with his touch judge he changed his decision and awarded a try to Lichfield in the right corner. The wind was too strong for the attempted conversion, but Lichfield were back to within 3 points of Burton just before half-time. Burton 13-10 Lichfield. The half ended with Burton supporters thinking that a 3-point lead may not be enough but playing against the wind would mean more ball in hand which would suit their style of game. They hoped that Burton could cut out the errors that had not helped the flow of their game and that decisions would start to go their way also.
The answer to the last question at half-time was quickly established as Burton were penalised soon after the re-start and then rather too frequently for the first few minutes of the second period! With almost 10 minutes of play gone Lichfield were level with a successful penalty kick from in front of the posts. Burton 13-13 Lichfield. Burton shook themselves down and launched an attack featuring both backs and forwards resulting in skipper “Spud” Taylor scoring Burton’s second try of the game after about 11 minutes. Bunting was unfortunate to hit the post with his difficult conversion, but Burton had re-taken the lead. Burton 18-13 Lichfield. However, the lead did not last long as just 3 minutes later a converted try by Lichfield rescued it back. Burton 18-20 Lichfield.
Lichfield then began a phase where they dominated possession and Burton just could not seem to get their game going at all. Eventually, Burton were penalised for playing the scrum half which presented Lichfield with the opportunity to extend their lead with a penalty kick which they did. Burton 18-23 Lichfield. Burton then made several changes to get fresh legs on the pitch. A Bunting break from a maul on the left of the Lichfield 22-metre line was abruptly halted with a high tackle which somehow went unpunished. From the resulting penalty Burton rightly went for the line-out and as the ball was moved to the right wing it appeared that a try had been scored but this time the referees consultation resulted in Burton being penalised for an offence just before the touchdown.
Fortunately, it was not too long before Burton got themselves back on level terms as Bunting and Josh Kent combined for the latter to score an unconverted try wide on the left. Burton 23-23 Lichfield. The tight game seemed to affect both teams’ ability to put together meaningful and telling phases of play and the error count increased with Burton suffering the most as their errors did not allow them to develop any momentum which has been such a key part of their recent run of form. As time ticked away Burton were penalised in front of their own posts just beyond the 10-metre line which was well converted to give Lichfield a 3-poiont lead. Burton then lost a little composure as they sought desperately to regain the lead. They were made to pay for a disappointing performance well below that seen last week at Newport (Salop) as Lichfield held on to win the trophy.
Burton started the game with the strong breeze in their favour and showed great defensive work as Lichfield looked to run the ball out of their own half. Burton soon turned over possession and drew the first penalty from Lichfield for holding on. A good kick to the corner followed by a solid catch and drive from the forwards looked like the first try had been scored but the referee was unsighted and awarded Lichfield a drop-out from under their own posts with just 3 minutes gone. Lichfield were immediately under pressure as the drop-out went directly into touch for a Burton throw on the 5-metre line. A well-executed catch and drive from Burton and it seemed inevitable Burton would open the scoring when the pick and go move was halted by a somewhat hasty holding on decision. James Davies stole the line-out throw but was thwarted by the third holding on decision.
Lichfield were able to clear to the 10-metre line and it was clear the game would be keenly contested once again on the evidence of the first 6 minutes or so. Lichfield then had a short period of continuous possession, where they made their way slowly up to the Burton 22-metre line and through good handling managed to score the game’s first try in the left corner after 9 minutes. The difficult conversion was unsuccessful, but Lichfield led. Burton 0-5 Lichfield.
Burton’s defence was strong once again as Lichfield could only make their way up to the 22-metre line from the re-start. Burton then forced a knock-on in the central part of the pitch and from the resultant scrum they totally over-powered their opponents and were awarded a penalty in front of the posts, which bunting duly converted to reduce the deficit to just 2 points. Burton 3-5 Lichfield. Almost immediately after Lichfield re-started the game Burton were awarded another penalty which was taken quickly by Chaz Bunting who found Jack Neal in support to score Burton’s first try of the game. Bunting was successful with the conversion so Burton were in the lead after about 17 minutes. Burton 10-5 Lichfield.
The re-start from Lichfield went straight into touch so Burton were awarded a scrum on the half-way line but it was Burton who were adjudged to have pushed too early. Burton once again looked solid in defence as Lichfield struggled to get out of their own half. When Burton again had possession, Lichfield were penalised for a high tackle on the10-metre line. Jamie Dutton took play back into the Lichfield 22 metre line with a great touch kick on the right. Burton then mounted a series of phases with Josh Kent making good headway in the loose play and were again awarded a penalty in front of the posts. Bunting converted and Burton’s lead had increased after 25 minutes. Burton 13-5 Lichfield.
Burton continued to use the breeze to good advantage with box kicks being spilt by Lichfield. Good phase play from Burton helped them get into the danger zone on the right again but this came to nothing as possession was lost somehow at the 5-metre line! From here Lichfield made their way up to the Burton 22 metre line rather more easily this time but great Burton defence forced another holding on penalty. There were handling errors a plenty from both teams in the difficult conditions and it was from one of these that the next score was built. Burton were guilty in the centre of the pitch and Lichfield then awarded a scrum penalty and kicked well into the Burton “22”. As Lichfield moved the ball well to the right the referee signalled that the ball had been held up by the Burton cover defence. However, following a discussion with his touch judge he changed his decision and awarded a try to Lichfield in the right corner. The wind was too strong for the attempted conversion, but Lichfield were back to within 3 points of Burton just before half-time. Burton 13-10 Lichfield. The half ended with Burton supporters thinking that a 3-point lead may not be enough but playing against the wind would mean more ball in hand which would suit their style of game. They hoped that Burton could cut out the errors that had not helped the flow of their game and that decisions would start to go their way also.
The answer to the last question at half-time was quickly established as Burton were penalised soon after the re-start and then rather too frequently for the first few minutes of the second period! With almost 10 minutes of play gone Lichfield were level with a successful penalty kick from in front of the posts. Burton 13-13 Lichfield. Burton shook themselves down and launched an attack featuring both backs and forwards resulting in skipper “Spud” Taylor scoring Burton’s second try of the game after about 11 minutes. Bunting was unfortunate to hit the post with his difficult conversion, but Burton had re-taken the lead. Burton 18-13 Lichfield. However, the lead did not last long as just 3 minutes later a converted try by Lichfield rescued it back. Burton 18-20 Lichfield.
Lichfield then began a phase where they dominated possession and Burton just could not seem to get their game going at all. Eventually, Burton were penalised for playing the scrum half which presented Lichfield with the opportunity to extend their lead with a penalty kick which they did. Burton 18-23 Lichfield. Burton then made several changes to get fresh legs on the pitch. A Bunting break from a maul on the left of the Lichfield 22-metre line was abruptly halted with a high tackle which somehow went unpunished. From the resulting penalty Burton rightly went for the line-out and as the ball was moved to the right wing it appeared that a try had been scored but this time the referees consultation resulted in Burton being penalised for an offence just before the touchdown.
Fortunately, it was not too long before Burton got themselves back on level terms as Bunting and Josh Kent combined for the latter to score an unconverted try wide on the left. Burton 23-23 Lichfield. The tight game seemed to affect both teams’ ability to put together meaningful and telling phases of play and the error count increased with Burton suffering the most as their errors did not allow them to develop any momentum which has been such a key part of their recent run of form. As time ticked away Burton were penalised in front of their own posts just beyond the 10-metre line which was well converted to give Lichfield a 3-poiont lead. Burton then lost a little composure as they sought desperately to regain the lead. They were made to pay for a disappointing performance well below that seen last week at Newport (Salop) as Lichfield held on to win the trophy.
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