after the initial game in December was postponed at the eleventh hour. But on this occasion they travelled back home with the two points after a tense and error strewn display left them hanging on by their fingernails to record a 23-22 victory as their hosts pressed for a final score in the last five minutes. In previous seasons this was a game Burton probably would have lost but once again their spirit and resolve pulled them through.

As a niggling shoulder injury to young Danny Eastwood had failed to respond to treatment Jon Edwards was called up to partner Burton’s other young second row Josh Cartwright. In the closeness of the contest it is probable that Edwards’s extra experience and guile helped rather than hindered Burton’s cause as the visiting forwards battled throughout the game to hold a very, strong and powerful home pack before coming home with the spoils. Certainly the one-point victory shows just how close game was contested, although it has to be said that this was only the case because Burton had failed to convert three or four chances in the first fifteen minutes.

Men in front of the ball saw Burton’s kick-off become a Whitchurch scrum at the centre of the pitch, but fortunately the hosts couldn’t take advantage of this as they were penalised. Craig Dutton’s quick tap saw him race up field to feed Danny Smith, who was bundled into touch on the home twenty-two. Initially the Burton pack was well up for the contest and took the play to the opposition with great surging runs by Joe Carpenter, Jon Edwards, Charl Neethling and Dominic Taylor. This early pressure saw Tom Bartram kick ahead and as the home fullback fumbled the ball Burton got a scrum on the twenty-two. Burton won the ball and spun it out wide to Lawrence Betty, but he ignored men outside him and went for the line only to be hauled down. From the ensuing ruck Burton won the ball and Rob Wakelin and Charl Neethling worked in tandem to set up a maul from which Ian Gilmour put a little grubber through to just over the line. Both Betty and Bartram sped after the ball but the former hit the posts and the latter knocked on as he tried to ground the ball.

With Whitchurch struggling to cope with Burton’s pace and power a clearance attempt was half charged down by Carpenter and the ball was again spun out wide along the line, but Lewis Brooks was unable to take the final pass with the line at his mercy. Burton retrieved the ball and again attacked moving the ball out to the left to Betty, who again ignored men outside and hung onto the ball only to be hauled down short of the line. After twenty-two minutes all this Burton pressure was rewarded as Whitchurch were adjudged offside as they tackled Gilmour in front of the posts on their own twenty-two. Tom Bartram made no mistake with his kick and Burton at last had a lead after completely dominating all the play.

From the restart Whitchurch tried to attack but a crunching tackle by Betty in midfield saw Taylor snap up the loose ball and dash forward twenty metres before feeding Gilmour. He cleverly drew the cover and passed to Brooks who raced in unopposed to score Burton first try and mark his return to the game.

Trailing 8-0 Whitchurch took full advantage of a long stoppage when one of their forwards was injured to get themselves motivated and upon resumption of play stepped up their game. Their forwards began to take a tighter grip of the game and some rolling mauls had the Burton pack struggling to cope. A burst through midfield saw Whitchurch get to within eight metres of the Burton line to win a scrum. A powerful shove saw the Burton pack buckle and get pushed back over the line and with frantic Burton hands trying to get hold of the ball the referee awarded a penalty try. So facing a home pack that was becoming more and more difficult to hold Burton led 8-7 with ten minutes of the half remaining.

The rest of the half saw Burton’s pack doing their utmost to stop the Whitchurch surge with some great defending. However, on occasions it was Burton who tried to start these mauling tactics but this only produced slow ball that Burton was unable to use. Play moved up and down the pitch as both sides battled for superiority but with Burton’s defence holding firm with great efforts from Carpenter, Taylor, Edwards and Neethling. In the forty-eight minute of the half Whitchurch again surged forward with another rolling maul and with Burton’s forwards penalised for going over the top Whitchurch's Gravell stepped up to slot home the kick to put his side in the lead at the break by 10-8.

The second half started with both sides conceding early penalties, but whereas Whitchurch found touch Burton didn’t and had to face more pressure from a side growing in confidence as the match went on. In fact a missed touch by Burton saw Whitchurch run the ball forward. Only a combined tackle by Bartram and Gilmour stopped this move but the home side won quick ball to spin it out wide for their winger Crank to race in for a try in the corner to extend his sides lead to 15-8.

Burton now began to try and increase their tempo and good runs by Bartram, Brooks, Carpenter, Dutton and Edwards took play deep into Whitchurch territory. A steal by Cartwright at a lineout saw Banton feed the ball out to Gilmour who raced through a narrow gap to feed the ever, supporting Carpenter and with Edwards on his elbow they raced to within two metres of the home line. Whitchurch were penalised for stamping and Bartram’s trusty boot saw his kick sail high over the crossbar to put the score at 15-11.

Taking the restart John Philliskirk kicked the ball deep into the Whitchurch twenty-two, possibly a tactic Burton should have made more use of in the later stages of the game. Deep in their own half Whitchurch looked far less dangerous as they struggled to clear the ball as Burton’s next try showed. Burton’s pack pressed forward and gained a penalty that Dutton took quickly and with the referee playing advantage he dashed forward to feed the ball to Danny Clarke who charged down the right touchline before setting up a maul. Good, quick ball saw Banton feed Gilmour who rapier-like sliced through the defence to dive over for a try under the posts. Bartram converted and Burton now led 18-15.

Now back in the ascendancy and with twenty minutes play remaining all Burton had to do to win was keep hold of the ball and play in the opposition half and this task was made easier when Whitchurch’s centre was sin-binned for repeatedly not rolling away in the tackle. But Burton were obviously trying to make a game of it as they threw wayward passes, had kicks charged down and generally let Whitchurch’s forwards get into the game by playing inside the Burton half. However, taking advantage of the extra man Burton’s backrow combined to drive play into the opposition half and as the ball was spun out to the left Betty made up for his two earlier errors by crashing over in the corner to put Burton 23-15 up.

The return of the player from the sin-bin saw a resurgence in the home side’s efforts as they drove their way into Burton’s half helped by many Burton unforced errors. A Burton clearance was part-charged down and not cleared up and Whitchurch got the first of a series of scrums near the Burton line. Although Burton strained every sinew and tried every trick they knew after three or four scrums the home side eventually drove over the line for a try. Their kicker landed the conversion and only one point separated the sides at 23-22. With five minutes remaining and Burton still making unforced errors tempers began to flair it was a very tense Burton defence that held out and won the day albeit by the narrowest of margins.