Burton Too Strong For Oundle

A sloppy start to the game for Burton resulted in a line out from the kick off. An overthrow and hands in the ruck led to an Oundle penalty in the first 2 minutes. Burton trail: 3-0.
After the restart, Burton soon began to dominate following a poor kick from Oundle. Burton broke the defensive line and Tommie Collingwood was on hand to score in the corner. The conversion was duly added by Chaz Bunting to put Burton in the lead: 3-7.
Burton were soon back on the attack after handling errors from Oundle allowed them to make ground. A solid line-out, some good handling and slick movement allowed Charles Austin to get Burton’s second try in the corner, this time unconverted: 3-12.
Burton continued to make roads into the Oundle defence with Alfredo Bergada making a good break from inside Burton’s own half. He was however brought down by the covering Oundle defence, and they managed to turn the ball over and stopped a potential try scoring opportunity. Errors by both teams continued to occur and eventually Oundle were awarded their second penalty of the game. A successful kick made the score: 6-12
As the half time break loomed Burton found themselves with fewer tries than usual at this stage of the game and errors from both teams continued to stem the flow of the game. A poor scrum by Burton allowed Oundle to make ground but the move was halted by a penalty. Another penalty, this time to Burton led to a line-out and ultimately a third try, with good running from Alfredo Bergada and Alex Nesbitt linking well for Collingwood to score his second try of the game and Burton’s third: 6-17.
HALF TIME SCORE: 6-17
Whilst Oundle defended well, a slick start from Burton and strong carries from the second row allowed Bergada to score Burton’s inevitable bonus point try in the corner. Bunting added the conversion to make the score: 6-24.
Some good defence from the Burton centres left Oundle with limited options. However, Burton gave away a penalty and Oundle kicked to touch for a line-out. The line out was overthrown allowing Collingwood to run from his own 22 metre line to Oundle’s 22-metre line. Oundle then gave away a penalty which saw Burton kick to the corner and allowed the Burton backs to break and produce a slick move resulting in a try by Nesbitt under the posts, again converted by Bunting: 6-31
Oundle restarted the game and showed great attitude and dominated possession to produce a well worked try for their first of the game: 11-31
At 62 minutes Burton bring on all three Finishers; Will Hopwood, Harry Mellor & Eddie Brown with the Eddie making his 1XV debut.
However, Burton remained dominant and progressed right up to the try line but good defence by Oundle kept them at bay. The ball was turned over and it is Oundle who begin to threaten the Burton line again. A tap and go from an Oundle penalty took them close to the Burton line and ultimately resulted in their second try: 16-31.
Burton regained possession from the kick off but Oundle have new found confidence and begin to make a strong comeback which Burton did well to suppress. Determined to finish on a high, however, Burton continued to attack the Oundle try line and after multiple phases Will Simpson danced his way through the defence and scored under the posts the final try of the game. A conversion by Bunting made the final score: 16-38
A huge thank-you to Oundle who provided great after match hospitality with plenty of beers and singing by all. We wish them the very best for the future.
Burton’s second row pairing of Stephen Hunt and Joe Gazzard were awarded men of the match.
Next week Burton host Paviours at Battlestead Croft for their final home game of the season, where they hope to make amends for their away defeat earlier on in the year.

By Ellie Catlin