A dry, sunny but bitterly cold Saturday afternoon on Peel Croft saw Burton show that their county cup win in November over Walsall was no fluke after they had earlier suffered a league defeat at Walsall. In front of a large crowd Burton continued to play the brand of rugby that has been the feature of their play since early October as they bounced back from last week’s defeat at Sutton Coldfield to inflict an excellent win with five tries to give them an emphatic five point bonus win against a Walsall side that only played in the spasms that Burton allowed them when sloppy ball retention or vagaries in the law book led to lost possession or penalties being awarded against them. In fact Walsall’s only points came from these penalties as their kicker Matt Wood kept them in touch throughout the game thanks to six successful kicks at goal that saw the final score of 37-18 produced.

Burton’s Dave Archer started the game and both he and his pack charged up field to hustle the catcher and the first twenty-five minutes were all Burton as Archer, Danny Smith and Lewis Brooks made breaks through the visitor’s frail defence. These were all supported by brothers Dominic and Nathan Taylor, Craig Dutton and Kevin Birt as Burton lay siege to the opposition line. Eventually the pressure told and Walsall were penalised for offences in two mauls for Archer to land two penalty attempts in as many minutes and give Burton a 6-0 lead after just ten minutes.

From the restart Nathan Taylor and Lawrence Betty made ground before Brooks produced a great run to flash passed flat-footed defenders and race clear. He passed back to Luke Peach but his feed to Archer was adjudged forward and a Walsall scrum saw them clear the danger back to halfway. But the relief for the visitors was short lived as the younger Taylor stole a ball against the head for his brother to storm forward into the opposition twenty-two. When partially stopped he was quickly back on his feet to feed Ben Peach who linked with Matt Tivey, But his pass to the on rushing Birt was judged to be forward and the move broke down. A great take by Josh Cartwright saw Peach again feed Birt but as with the previous move a forward pass stopped progress. However, Birt was not going to be put off and a pick-up by Dutton saw him feed Peach who again passed to Birt and this time he stormed over the line and touched down with Walsall players hanging on to him in valiant but vain attempts to try and stop him. Archer’s conversion sailed over the bar and Burton now led 13-0 with less than thirty minutes played.

Immediately, Burton reverted to their generous nature and were penalised at the restart for Walsall’s kicker to reduce the deficit by three points. With the Burton team now lapsing into a spell of loose play with the ball being continually lost in contact Walsall advanced into home territory thanks to two rolling mauls. Then another penalty offence by Burton was taken ten-metres closer to goal after a Burton player commented on the decision and this was then thankfully accepted by the Walsall kicker as he moved the score forward to 13-6.

Great work by Dutton and Ken Archer saw Burton gain a scrum and as the ball moved down the Burton line Brooks fed the charging Birt who bustled his way forward. Burton got inside the opposition twenty-two only to see the ball turned over and Walsall tried to kick it clear, but quick thinking by Dave Fitchett saw him charge the ball down and it bounced towards Archer on the wing. He scooped up the loose ball and skipped his way over the line to touch down for Burton’s second try, as the half time whistle sounded his conversion attempt sailed off into space and Burton went into the break leading 18-6.

During the break Jamie Hamilton replaced Matt Tivey at prop due to the latter’s breathing difficulties in the cold air. From Walsall’s kick-off Hamilton was soon taking up where Tivey had left off as he took a pass from ‘Spud’ Taylor to charge twenty metres towards the Walsall line and take play onto the visitor’s ten metre line. But the Walsall defence raced back to recover and run the ball back and as the Burton team again incurred the wrath of the referee two more successful kicks at goal were converted by the Walsall kicker to take the score to 18-12. The restart was taken by Lee English but as Smith ran round him to take the ball he passed early and Walsall pounced on the loose ball. Burton again suffered another decision for not releasing against them and Walsall’s kicker again reduced the deficit to just three points as his kick sailed over the bar for a 18-15 score-line.

After six successful penalties against then Burton’s Archer at last had a chance to land one of his own but his attempt sailed agonisingly close and failed to trouble the scorer. Archer’s luck has rarely been as bad as another pass to him after a great move by Betty and Brooks saw the final pass to him adjudged forward. Danny Campbell and Jon Edwards replaced Ben Peach and Ken Archer as Burton tried to steady the ship and Campbell was soon in action as he linked with Brooks and Smith to make forty metres into the opposition twenty-two. Good, quick ball saw Dutton, Edwards, ‘Spud’ Taylor and Fitchett all make drives for the line before another ruck just two metres short of the Walsall line saw Nathan Taylor twist and turn his way over for a try. Archer added the extra pints and Burton now led 25-15.

However, as usually happens after Burton have scored, the restart saw Burton immediately penalised for not releasing and Walsall’s kicker, thinking that it was his birthday, duly stepped up to make it six out of six and increase his sides tally to eighteen points.

Enough was enough for Burton and the pack with Edwards, Cartwright and Fitchett to the fore took play into the opposition twenty-two where both Dutton and Birt made twenty hard yards with typically bustling runs. Campbell was quick on to the ball and spun it out to Luke Peach who fed the speeding Brooks to race over the line and run under the posts to touch down. Alas, his efforts were in vain as Archer’s attempted conversion slid outside the uprights to leave the score at 30-18.

Walsall’s restart was gathered by ‘Spud’ Taylor who raced forward before kicking deep into opposition territory, but despite pressure Walsall returned the ball back into the Burton half. Archer repeated the same move as executed by Taylor minutes before but this time Burton’s support tackled the Walsall receiver and Betty picked up the loose ball to feed Brooks who completed the twenty metres to line to score his second and Burton’s fifth try of the day. But this time, unlike the end of the first half, Archer’s conversion bisected the uprights to the sound of the referee’s whistle signalling the end of the half. This left Burton worthy winners at 37-18 and fully deserving of their four win and one bonus points from a match where once again they showed their continued improved form as they beat a team higher than themselves in the league.