Changeable weather conditions at Battlestead Croft for the last home game of the season meant both teams had to contend with sunshine, a gusty breeze and rain showers in one afternoon as Burton overpowered dogged Paviors, who lacked the quality required to get the better of a slightly below-par home team performance. Burton ran in 8 tries and showed a more clinical edge to their game that was missing in the early part of this season.
Paviors kicked off the game with the breeze at their backs and were given the put in at the first scrum following a clumsy knock-on by the home team. Burton then suffered early disruption to their team as Alfredo Bergarda was forced off due to an injury sustained in the warm-up so Will Simpson moved from centre to full-back and Will Hopwood came on in the centre. The scrum was re-set twice before Paviors retained possession and the Burton defence was called into action in this early attack. Dominant defending edged Burton back up to the 10-metre line but Paviors kept the early pressure on following a scrum penalty, which got them back into the Burton “22” immediately. With Paviors retaining possession for the vast majority of the first 10-12 minutes Burton’s strong defence in loose play, rucks and mauls made it extremely difficult for the visitors to achieve any penetration. Several minor errors from the home team did not help relieve any territorial pressure but their sound defensive play meant Paviors were not able to put any points on the board.
Burton had to wait until the 13th minute to get into the Paviors half but when they did it was not long before they opened the scoring. Great interplay involving several Burton players resulted in Chaz Bunting scoring on the right. He slotted the difficult conversion to give Burton the lead somewhat against the run of play after 14 minutes. Burton 7-0 Paviors. They were very quickly back into the Paviors half following the re-start courtesy of a penalty against Paviors for not rolling away. With Burton now enjoying a little possession of their own they forced Paviors to give away several penalties and on one occasion kick the ball dead from inside their own half. The crowd sensed that Burton were close to adding to their score and tried to assist with noisy but positive encouragement. Burton steadily made their way into the Paviors “22” and from a line-out on the right they moved the ball left where Alex Nesbitt finished off the move with a try under the posts after 25 minutes. Bunting added the simple conversion to extend Burton’s lead. Burton 14-0 Paviors.
The re-start saw another silly knock-on error from the home team which allowed Paviors to gain territory and only an excellent tackle form winger Will Derry prevented Paviors reducing the deficit as they threatened the Burton line. However, Paviors did not have to wait too long before they did score themselves, albeit in quite controversial terms. Burton were in possession just inside their own “22” and a maul had formed. It appeared that the Burton ball carrier had his knees on the ground which should have signalled the tackle being completed and the ball be released. Paviors were allowed to carry on stripping the ball and then moved it to the Burton right where they scored their first points of the game after 32 minutes. A difficult conversion was successful to make the score Burton 14-7 Paviors.
With the re-start not going 10 metres Burton were guilty of handing back momentum to Paviors rather too easily as well as making it very difficult for themselves to build rhythm into their own game. Paviors too were guilty of simple errors when they kicked the ball dead for a second time in the half as the game became a little scrappy. Burton were then forced to make a blood-injury change with Lewis Sturgess being replaced by Jack Neal. Burton almost added to their score when Nesbitt made a break in the centre but could not link up to any teammates. As the half-time whistle approached Paviors tried but failed to break through the solid Burton defence and the score remained unchanged.
The second half started with the home supporters a little worried about the slender lead and this was not helped when an early penalty kick from Bunting went just wide. Mistakes from both teams continued to be a factor in the game which was in danger of fizzling out a little. However, some nerves were settled when Bunting successfully converted a second penalty attempt after around 7 minutes of the second half. Burton 17-7 Paviors. Just 5 minutes later he added a further penalty to make the score Burton 20-7 Paviors. Burton then seemed to kick back into life and the next score came almost out of nothing as Nesbitt fed Derry who sprinted past Paviors defenders and returned the pass to Nesbitt just shy of the try line for him to score wide on the left. A brilliant conversion from Bunting made the score Burton 27-7 Paviors after 15 minutes.
Paviors spirited response was commendable, but their ambition was out-foxed buy Burton’s eagerness and hunger for more points. A Paviors backs move was pressurised intensely resulting in Jamie Dutton grabbing an interception and sprinting away from chasing defenders to score on the right after 53 minutes. Bunting just missed with the conversion but Burton were now much more comfortable. Burton 32-7 Paviors. The Burton scrum began to take back control and an impressive drive gained them a penalty on the 10-metre line. The kick for touch took them into the Paviors “22” then there was a lengthy delay for an injury to the Paviors centre. When play resumed Burton got over the line but the referee could not see a clear grounding so a drop out from under the posts was given. Paviors were reeling even more when a high tackle resulted in a yellow card and Burton looked to close out the game.
Another good handling move presented Charles Austin with the opportunity to get his name on the scoresheet which he duly took wide on the right after 66 minutes. Bunting narrowly missed the difficult conversion but Burton were now totally in charge. Burton 37-7 Paviors. The re-start saw Burton get straight into the Paviors half but following a kick tennis exchange it was Paviors turn to put Burton under pressure. With decisions rather strangely starting to go in favour of the losing away side, Paviors scored their second try of the game from a good catch and drive after a line-out on the right-hand side of the Burton 5-metre line after 75 minutes. The conversion just missed but frustratingly the score now stood at Burton 37-12 Paviors.
Burton’s response to that was immediate as Bunting collected the kick off and went on an impressive and illusive run back into the Paviors danger zone where Tommie Collingwood was on hand to take the offload and score on the left. Bunting just missed with the conversion to leave the score at Burton 42-12 Paviors. Burton were not finished just yet, however and as full-time approached Davies got the ball on the Paviors “22” and sold an outrageous dummy to the midfield cover defence and darted through a gap to score the final try of the game. Simpson converted to leave the final score Burton 49-12 Paviors.
With a break for easter next week Burton’s final game away to Sandbach is on 23 April and they will be keen to extend their winning run to 8 matches. Following this week’s results Burton moved up to 7th position and depending on how other results go Burton could finish as high as 6th position. Man of the match went to James Davies for an excellent all-round performance in the front row.