Melbourne started the game well retrieving the ball immediately from their own kick off but although they handled well and showed good ball retention they were unable to penetrate the Burton defence. Burton eventually got hold of the ball and cleared it but a poor return kick by the visitors found winger Leroy Bitterhout who gathered the ball and ran from his own 10 metre line to score under the posts. Chaz Bunting added the extra points.

From the restart Burton went on the attack again and a good kick ahead by fly half Harry Titley should have lead to a try but the ball was knocked on just short of the line. However Burton put pressure on the visitors’ scrum so they were unable to clear the ball. The home team then won the ball and some slick passing by the backs created an overlap for winger Harris Mountford. The conversion was missed.

Burton were soon into action again and after the backs and forwards combined to carry the ball almost to the try line, they recycled it quickly for prop Matt Tivey to crash over from one metre out. Bunting converted.

From the restart Burton again got into the Melbourne half and won a penalty. However they lost the ensuing lineout and conceded a penalty themselves so the visitors were able to clear their lines. It was then their turn to put pressure on the Burton defence but when the Burton pack won the ball from a turnover, the backs ran from their own 22 and scrum half Bunting was in support to score the fourth try and ensure a bonus point. He converted his own try.

Burton were now dominant and in the last play of the half Jack Brooks spotted space behind the visitors’ back line so he kicked through for his fellow centre Lewis Brooks to gather and score. Bunting added the extra points to make the score at half time 33-0.

Burton seemed to relax at half time and did not play with the same intensity after the restart as they did in the first half. This allowed Melbourne back into the game and after a good passing move along the backs their winger scored in the corner. The conversion was missed.
Burton soon regained possession after the restart and a chip ahead by Titley was gathered by Lewis Brooks to score his second try. Bunting missed the conversion.

There then followed a period of poor play from Burton when they made several handling errors and also missed tackles. A combination of good running and handling by the visitors and some weak tackling by the Burton defence allowed Melbourne to score two more converted tries.

With the score now at 38-19 this could have been a very uncomfortable last quarter of the match for the home team but they finally got their act together and took control of the game. They were to score three more tries before the final whistle. The first of these was from a planned move when Bunting passed the ball to fly half Titley, looped around him to receive the ball again and passed it to Mountford for his second try. The conversion was missed.

The second of these tries also went to Mountford. When one of the Melbourne backs dropped the ball he pounced on it to race in and score his hat trick try. Bunting added the extra points. The final try of the day went to loose head prop James Davies. After a drive by the Burton pack Davies beat a defender and ran from about 26 metres to score under the posts. Bunting converted to make the final score Burton 55 Melbourne 19.