Burton Suffer Injuries in Defeat at Oxford Harlequins

Burton were looking to make amends for last week’s agonising loss to Stourbridge on their long trip to Oxford Harlequins, who won handsomely against Broadstreet last week. Playing on Oxford’s 4G pitch was no doubt going to be a big advantage for the home side, but Burton made an impressive start to the game, despite playing against a slight breeze. A probing kick almost into the Oxford Harlequins “22” was knocked on and the first scrum of the game was very encouraging as Burton’s pack drove strongly and won a penalty which they opted to kick for touch on the left-hand side. As in the previous meeting Burton found Oxford Harlequins’ defence difficult to break down as they were kept on and around the “22” as they maintained possession without really gaining further territory.
Another penalty gave Burton the opportunity to keep the pressure on the home defence, but the lineout was lost. Oxford harlequins looked to run the ball from deep inside their own “22” and knocked on in front of their own posts giving Burton a scrum in a very dangerous area. Unfortunately the Burton scrum was driven off the ball and then drew a penalty as the scrum collapsed. The home team cleared up the pitch and although they won back possession another knock-on offence presented Burton with the scrum once again. A second collapse was deemed to be the fault of Oxford Harlequins and Burton were once again back into the home “22”.
Rather surprisingly it was Oxford Harlequins who opened the scoring with their first visit to the Burton half as they took advantage of a couple of missed tackles with some excellent handling to score in the right corner after 12 minutes. The difficult conversion was missed to leave the score at Oxford Harlequins 5-0 Burton. The game then became centred around the half-way line as neither side were able to break each other down. Eventually Burton began to make some progress up field, but they were unable to build any real momentum in their play as the home side’s penalty count grew steadily. Burton took advantage of this when Chas Bunting was successful with a penalty kick in front of the posts after 17 minutes to reduce the arrears to just 2 points. Oxford Harlequins 5-3 Burton.
The stalemate in terms of territory continued for a little longer as did the home penalty count, which prompted the referee to show the yellow card leaving the home team a player down. Perhaps this was the opportunity for Burton to take a hold on the game. However it was the home team who were next to score, although there was a suspicion of a knock on just prior to the grounding of the ball which the referee did not see. The conversion from the left was well struck and Oxford Harlequins increased their lead to 9 points with just over 25 minutes of the first half. Oxford Harlequins 12-3 Burton.
Burton then suffered a setback when skipper Will Hopwood had to leave the field with an injury. Then the home team were quickly back into the Burton half and were rewarded with a penalty kick, which was successfully converted to increase their lead further after 28 minutes. Oxford Harlequins 15-3 Burton. A great response by Burton saw them make some significant progress into the danger zone. A penalty advantage was being played as Burton searched for their first try of the game. Debutant, Nial Collett tried to force his way over the line from the penalty just a few metres out but in doing so he too suffered an injury which forced him to leave the field too. Burton were forced to make some positional changes to the backline despite only having forwards on the bench! Andy Martin was moved from back row to the wing, with Cyrus Griffiths moving from wing to full back.
To their great credit, despite the changes Burton continued to pressurise the home defence and were not going to let the opportunity slip through their hands. Eventually Dom Phillips received the ball on the left and scored a well-deserved try after 32 minutes. Bunting added the conversion and Burton were back to within one score. Oxford Harlequins 15-10 Burton.
Just prior to the half-time whistle Burton were punished by Oxford Harlequins as they scored rather too easily a third try of the half. Although the conversion was missed Burton now found themselves 10 points behind their hosts and things were about to get worse on the injury front as Phillips became Burton’s third serious injury recipient as he tried a short chip over the home defensive line. Whilst attempting to catch his own kick he was challenged by an opponent and the collision saw him fall to the ground heavily. He was treated on the pitch for a significant period of time, at which point the referee decided to bring the first half to a premature conclusion. Oxford Harlequins 20-10 Burton The concussion protocols will mean he will miss next week’s game with Derby.
Burton now had it all to do in the second half and major positional changes in the backs were again required. The situation was at least helped a little as Hopwood returned to the pitch to play in the centre but with Bunting struggling with a niggling injury from the previous week, Griffiths moved firstly to fly-half then later to scrum half it was no wonder that Burton would find it impossible to inject any flow to their game for the rest of the afternoon. George able moved to full-back. This was exaggerated even more by the home team as throughout the second period their penalty count continued at an extremely high level. Unfortunately this went unpunished by the referee in terms of yellow cards and Burton were gradually worn down.
The second period started with the home team seeking to add to their score, but the game turned into a rather tight tussle with neither side able to impose themselves on their opponents. This continued for a considerable period of time. There were glimpses of potential for it to open up a little but neither goal line was really threatened. The stalemate was finally broken with about 15 minutes remaining as the Burton defensive effort was penetrated following prolonged territorial pressure from the home side. A successful conversion probably took the game beyond Burton’s reach, and it was a case of damage limitation now. Oxford Harlequins 27-10 Burton.
Oxford Harlequins followed this score up with another just 2 minutes later as they threatened to run riot over a badly wounded Burton side. Oxford Harlequins 34-10 Burton. However Burton rallied once again and showed their team ethic and commitment as the game approached its conclusion. The final score probably flattered the home side who were clinical in their finishing when it mattered, whilst Burton, for the second week running probably felt that they had not got what they deserved for their efforts. A home game against local rivals, Derby next week will be a big test of the Burton’s squad depth and resilience.