Charl became only the 26th player to reach this landmark, however there was more a sense of relief after the game than celebration.

OLs kicked off, on a cold, still and dry day with pitch conditions perfect. Ed Henry ran the ball back, however Burton put the ball straight out and gave OLs a good field position. OLs played through several phases before losing the ball in contact allowing Harry Titley to launch a kick to the OLs 22. A penalty soon came Burton’s way and Darryl Banton established a 3-0 lead. The first of many error strewn periods of the game ensued before pressure from OLs tested the Burton defence. A brawl erupted and the outcome was a yellow card for Henry and three points for OLs.

The OLs scrum had the upper hand in the early exchanges, however Burton had reversed this to the point where the first scrum with 7 men gave a solid attacking platform. Jack Brooks, Banton and James Burrough combined before OLs transgressed at a breakdown. Bantons shot at goal faded left. Matt Tivey and Joe Gazzard made strong runs as Burton began to impose themselves on the game. Burton were pushed back beyond half way before Loz Betty hit a superb line and tore through the defence, however as was becoming the theme, the last pass wouldn’t stick.

Spuddy Taylor replaced Henry when the sin bin period was up. Frustration from Burton led to a couple of penalties for the home side and they were in a position to kick for the corner. Burton stopped the catch and drive, only to concede a further penalty, which Bean struck over to give the home side a 6-3 lead. Burton then attacked with some fluency; Joe Briggs, Josh Cartwright and Titley linking well. From a ruck in centre-field Burton attacked on the right, however the OLs defence had shown good line speed all afternoon and the centre intercepted. Briggs was hoping for a pass himself, but instead felled the receiver. OLs kicked clear, Titley fielded and launched Betty on a 40m burst, Briggs linked and then fed Jason Knight who finished off a great move. Banton’s excellent kick took Burton into a 10-6 lead.

Knight then bulldozed his way through the OLs pack from the kick off and Luke Peach made further ground. A penalty for Burton allowed a kick for the corner, however as Burton spun the ball out, a pass went to ground and the OLs left wing hacked forward. Further kicks took the ball to the try line, however unluckily for the attacker the ball held up and he over-ran, allowing Brooks to gratefully kick the ball dead. Half time followed.

Burton turned the ball over from the kick off and strung together several phases with Peach and Ian Gilmour probing for breaks. Eventually a blind-side move was forced into touch. OLs put together their best rugby, moving the point of attack well and stretching Burton’s defence before crossing the line only for Taylor to hold the ball up. This gave the home side confidence and they attacked again, squandering a good opportunity by crossing. An injury to Briggs prompted a major re-shuffle with Burrough moving from Hooker to the flank, Neethling from Loose Head in his place and Simon Bradley joining the action. Burton were to face great pressure for the remaining 25 minutes. The OL Scrum Half Bean had been causing problems at the base of the Burton scrum and with the OLs pack getting on top, Burton were to struggle to clear their lines for the remainder of the game. Banton and Betty made breaks to take play up-field but OLs hoisted high kicks and put on good chases to pin Titley and Matt Boden back.

Penalties came for OLs and they kicked for the corner rather than the posts. Over-cooked kicks and crooked throws didn’t help their cause, but neither did resolute defence from Burton. Errors and infringements dominated the play on both sides, before Burton clawed their way out of the 22 and the referee blew full-time on a second half without a score. To the frustration of the home side Burton took away four valuable league points.

By Ian Cartwright