Burton travelled away to league leaders Dudley Kingswinford on Saturday 11 February knowing that a massive improvement in their performance was required if they were to get anything out of the game. This they did with a wonderful display of courage, spirit, skill and effort against a classy home team that arguably deserved their win. Burton were literally inches away from producing what would have been a massive shock result in the dying moments but the Dudley defence held firm as Burton threw everything they had at them.
There were a few changes in the Burton line-up from that against Stoke the previous week. Joe Shacklock started in the second row, Joe Gazzard at number 8 and Jack Ingram started at scrum half with Chaz Bunting switching to full back. Conditions were good for rugby with little to no wind and a firm but giving pitch which boded well for open running rugby which was to the liking of both sides.
Burton kicked-off the game deep into Dudley territory and a clearance kick gave Burton the throw at the first line-out of the game on the right of the Dudley 10-metre line. A very positive start saw Burton get into the Dudley danger zone following a great break from Ingram. The ball was recycled, and Alex Nesbitt was stopped just 5 metres out from the try line where Dudley were penalised for offside. Burton kicked to the corner and looked to test the home line out defence just 5 metres from their own try-line on the left. Burton were rewarded for their efforts as they executed a perfect catch and drive with James Davies orchestrating and scoring the push over try from the base of the maul after just over 2 minutes of play. Will Simpson added the conversion, so Burton had the early lead. Dudley Kingswinford 0-7 Burton.
Following the re-start saw Dudley managed to turnover possession and played through several phases in a slick manner but were met by some resolute defending by Burton which meant they made very little headway into the Burton half. Eventually they were forced to kick through and this was well fielded by Jamie Dutton who returned the ball almost to the half-way line for another line-out. Burton were then able to regain possession and continued their excellent start with some fine decision making and good options being taken with the ball.
The hosts were clearly a little rattled by the start Burton had made and try as they did they could not find any way through. Early signs that they were a little uncomfortable with this situation showed when they tried too hard to get themselves going which resulted in the occasional handling mistake or forward pass. With the game now being rather congested around the half-way line, things seemed to get rather frenetic as handling errors from both sides increased although this probably suited Burton better than the hosts.
Burton were enjoying marginal dominance in the set scrum, which resulted in several penalties, one of which Dutton kicked deep into the Dudley “22” on the left. Another catch and drive maul was moving at some pace towards the Dudley try line when the referee adjudged it was deliberately collapsed by the home team and awarded Burton a penalty try after 14 minutes to double Burton’s lead. Dudley Kingswinford 0-14 Burton.
Burton’s travelling supporters were pleasantly surprised by their performance so far as well as their effort and ferocity which was squeezing the life out of Dudley’s attack. In spite of this the home team began to make headway into Burton territory and soon found themselves very close to the Burton try line. A scrum right in front of the posts saw the tables turned and Dudley drove the Burton pack backwards. Unfortunately for them the scrum had to be re-set and Burton were able to regain the upper hand and clear the ball up field, courtesy of an offside infringement against Dudley, just short of the half-way line.
Dudley continued to move the ball with some style, but Burton’s defence was holding up remarkably well as the half progressed. Dudley were still guilty of overplaying in attack as they struggled to make any major breakthrough. The frustration in their play was visible as long passes were thrown and handling errors occurred as they went in search of tries. With about 5 minutes to go before the break Dudley did record their first points of the game through a penalty in front of the posts. Dudley Kingswinford 3-14 Burton. As the half drew to a close Burton’s tactical kicking was good, aided by some favourable bounces of the ball, which kept Dudley on their toes and Burton playing the game in the right areas.
The second half began with Dudley showing their intent to get themselves back in the game as they sought to put right the failure to add to their impressive tally of tries so far this season. Burton found themselves under considerable pressure but as in the first half they were able to withstand it and not concede. Indeed they were able to regain possession and moved the ball very well through the hands to make their way back into the Dudley half. Unfortunately, they were also met with some resolute defending by the home team and not able to add to their lead at this stage.
With the dominant feature of the game being penalties the early stages of the half was clearly heavily contested as both teams looked to try and gain a stranglehold and platform to launch an attack. Dudley began to win the lions share of possession and Burton were forced to defend once again. With Dudley looking more dangerous now Burton were clinging on to their lead, but the home team were still unable to make that all-important breakthrough. Burton’s exit play was efficient and effective in their quest to maintain their lead.
With 10 minutes of the half gone, Dudley were finally able to finish off a handling move with more precision as a long pass created some space and a great offload in the tackle saw the score their first try of the game. The conversion was unsuccessful, but Burton’s lead was down to just 6 points. Dudley Kingswinford 8-14 Burton. The re-start went into touch via a Dudley hand so Burton had the throw for the line-out almost on the Dudley “22”. Burton again moved the ball nicely through the hands on the right hand side and Dudley were then awarded a drop-out from under the posts. A knock-on by Burton handed the initiative back to Dudley rather too easily and soon found themselves back on their own 5-metre line facing a home throw at the line-out. Dudley took full advantage and moved the ball from left to right to their winger who scored in the right corner. The conversion was unsuccessful, so Burton’s lead was now just a point mid-way through the second half Dudley Kingswinford 13-14 Burton.
Dudley could now sense that the win was now within their grasp and they continued to push for their winning score. It came after 26 minutes of the second half as Burton’s defence finally relented to another attack which allowed Dudley to score just to the right of the posts. An easy conversion extended their lead to 6 points and there looked to be just one winner at this stage. Dudley Kingswinford 20-14 Burton. Dudley were soon on the attack again looking to make the game safe with a further score but Burton were in no mood to let that happen. Despite putting severe pressure on the Burton line, Dudley were forced to drop for goal in a hurried manner and missed the target.
Bunting almost made a breakthrough with 10 minutes to play but he could not hold on to a pass low down at his feet when he had found a rare gap in the Dudley defence. Burton, however, were not finished yet and they freshened up their team with replacements and positional changes for the later stages of the half. In doing so they had what was probably their longest period of possession of the game as time after time they tried to penetrate the desperate home defence. Try as they might though they were just unable to find that telling pass or offload which would have unlocked the Dudley defence which somehow managed to prevent another Burton score as the final few minutes of play took place permanently just 5 metres out from the try line. Burton would have taken that scoreline before the game commenced but know that they ran the best team in the league very close indeed. With other results Burton dropped a place to 6th just 2 points behind Kenilworth who they meet at Battlestead Croft next Saturday. Man of the match was?????