Burton Deny Bridgnorth A Losing Bonus Point In A Very Tight Game

Burton travelled to Bridgnorth expecting the usual close and competitive game, and with both teams having an identical record, won two lost two so far this season, so something had to give if either side were to gain a victory. Both teams came into the game suffering with injuries, which meant some positional changes putting its outcome difficult to predict. From a Burton prospective, following his impressive performance at fly-half against Derby, Will Simpson started, George Abel took over at full-back and Riley Cassidy started at hooker.
Burton kicked off, playing towards the part-built new clubhouse, deep into the Bridgnorth half and the home team cleared with a kick just short of the ten-metre line on their right. Having won the line out, Bridgnorth were penalised for a high tackle and with no advantage coming their way Burton had an early opportunity to open the scoring with a penalty attempt. The kick however faded badly and missed just to the right of the posts.
With Burton making the better start to the game and enjoying the majority of possession in these early stages, they quickly had a second opportunity when a Simpson chip kick, from half-way, was charged down and Alex Nesbitt tidied up and then linked with George Abel at great pace and it took a desperate last gasp tackle 5-metres from the line on the left from the home team to deny them on this occasion too. Another infringement in the resulting ruck meant Burton had a third opportunity in as many minutes to open the scoring. A line-out, again on the 5-metre line was well executed but the home pack managed to stop the push-over try attempt and were eventually awarded a scrum. There was then a long delay for an injury to one of the home props as the scrum collapsed accidentally. Fortunately he was able to continue, and the game restarted.
Burton remained deep in Bridgnorth territory and although they found it difficult to convert the early opportunities it seemed only a matter of time that they would. With almost 15 minutes gone Burton got their score, following several phases of play where the ball was moved laterally left and right in search of a gap, eventually Abel found the space that was worked so hard for and touched down mid-way between the posts and the touchline on the left. Simpson struck the post with his conversion and the ball rebounded to safety, but Burton had the lead. Bridgnorth 0-5 Burton.
Bridgnorth looked to hit back straight away and got themselves into the Burton “22” for the first time in the game soon after the re-start but this was relatively short-lived, and Burton returned into the Bridgnorth half hoping to apply the pressure once again. In the next phase of play both teams seemed unwilling to keep the ball in the hands and a short game of “ping-pong” kicking ensued ending with a home line-out just outside their own “22” on the left. The game entered a period of relative stalemate with neither defence willing to let the opposition inside their own “22” This ended when Bridgnorth were penalised for a deliberate knock on, for which their player received a yellow card, and this was the signal for Burton to exert the pressure once again.
They maintained possession and tried to stretch the home defence by moving the ball left and right again without success. Bridgnorth were very relieved when Burton were penalised for holding on, particularly as the decision came very quickly from a Burton point of view. It was Bridgnorth’s turn to try and get a breakthrough now, but Burton were very resilient and steadfast in defence. Bridgnorth attempted to move the ball through the hands and captain Will Hopwood pounced to intercept and sprint away 80 metres to score a super individual try in the 28th minute. Simpson added the conversion to increase Burton’s lead to 12 points. Bridgnorth 0-12 Burton.
Following the re-start Burton looked to clear their lines but kicked straight into touch from just outside their own “22” to give Bridgnorth the put-in at a scrum in a central position. Bridgnorth hit back with an unconverted try of their own following a line-out on the left just inside the Burton “22” exposing space on the blind side. Bridgnorth 5-12 Burton. Not to be out-done Burton once again piled the pressure on the Bridgnorth back three with some clever chip kicks, which the home defence found difficult to deal with and eventually were penalised for in front of the posts. A simple penalty kick was converted by Simpson to give Burton a 10-point lead on the stroke of half-time. Bridgnorth 5-15 Burton.
Just before the break there was a controversial period when the home team were penalised, and the ball was cleared by Simpson up to the half-way line on the right. There was an altercation between both sets of players and John Kirwan was rather harshly singled out as the perpetrator and shown a yellow card when he appeared to be trying to calm things down. Soon after the whistle blew for half time with Burton deservedly leading by 10 points. The second half started with conditions worsening as rain began to fall. A very deep kick by Bridgnorth was cleared well by Chaz Bunting back to the half-way line.
Just like the first half Burton began the second half on the front foot and a mistake by the home full back gave Burton the throw at a line-out on the right of the Bridgnorth “22”. But after a short period Bridgnorth showed that they were not out of this game just yet as they turned over possession and kept it for some considerable time. Thankfully the Burton defence was switched on and showed they were not in the mood to give up their lead easily. In spite of this a penalty against Burton gave Bridgnorth the chance to reduce the deficit with a penalty, which was duly converted after 7 minutes of the half. Bridgnorth 8-15 Burton.
Bridgnorth to push on and sought to reduce the deficit further as they worked their way slowly up into the Burton “22”. Another penalty kick was converted after 13 minutes so the home team was now within one score and looking good to push for a potential victory. Bridgnorth 11-15 Burton. As the half progressed Bridgnorth looked the more likely to add to their points tally and it was no surprise when they did albeit in controversial circumstances. With pressure mounting on the Burton try line Bridgnorth scored their second try of the game on the right but to the disbelief of the travelling supporters what looked like a clear double movement was allowed to stand giving the home team the lead for the first time in the game with about 7 minutes left to play. The conversion missed so Bridgnorth led by the narrowest of margins. Bridgnorth 16-15 Burton.
Burton dug deep and began to make inroads into the tiring home defence. Just 2 minutes later, Burton were within striking range of the try line and when the opportunity arose Burton opted to kick a penalty to get themselves back in the lead. Simpson converted from a difficult angle, but the game was still on a knife-edge. Bridgnorth 16-18 Burton. Back came Bridgnorth with some powerful runs as the rain began to make handling very difficult for both sides. As a consequence what had been an excellent game became a little scrappy and it seemed unlikely that either side would be able to put together a sustained phase of play. With both sides now tiring rapidly it was Bridgnorth who started to pile the pressure on Burton but an attempted grubber kick through the Burton line was blocked and Bunting was on hand to scoop up the ball, one-handed and raced away unopposed to score under the posts. As Simpson prepared to take the conversion the referee indicated time was up and Burton had secured the win and denied Bridgnorth of a losing bonus point. Final score Bridgnorth 16-25 Burton.
With other results going Burton’s way they now find themselves in 4th position in the Regional 1 Midlands table, 5 points behind Banbury and Stourbridge and a further 3 behind leaders Oxford Harlequins. Burton’s next opponents are Stoke in two weeks’ time at Battlestead Croft, who have won their last two games and are just 3 points behind in a very congested mid-table. Man of the match was Riley Cassidy who put in a really big shift in the front row.