On a bitterly cold January day Burton entertained, top of the table, Bridgnorth at Battlestead Croft. The reverse fixture earlier in the season had ended in a high scoring defeat for Burton but they came into the match brimming with confidence following a good performance in a narrow defeat against Sheffield last week. A late change to the Burton line-up was made in the morning so Kieran Jackson started at fly-half. There was also a welcome return to the team for “Spud” Taylor after injury.
The early stages of the game saw play fluctuate between the Burton “22” and the Bridgnorth 10-metre line. A penalty against Burton gave Bridgnorth the opportunity to enter Burton’s danger zone but the kick for touch was too long and Burton re-started with a drop out on the “22”. Bridgnorth were penalised at a ruck shortly afterwards and Burton were able to mount the first real attack of the game. Burton’s handling was exemplary as they made steady progress towards the try line and as they got within touching distance it was Tommie Collingwood who got the home team off to a great start touching down to the right of the posts after 5 minutes. Chaz Bunting was off target with the conversion, but Burton had the lead. Burton 5-0 Bridgnorth.
From the re-start Bridgnorth looked to hit straight back but were met by solid defence from the home team. They progressed to the “22” and were then awarded a penalty which they opted to kick for goal. This was successful and Burton’s early lead was cut to 2 points after 9 minutes of the half. Burton 5-3 Bridgnorth. Burton responded well as they tackled strongly and gave their opponents no time on the ball. Having secured possession, the impressive Jackson kicked well downfield and great Burton chasing forced Bridgnorth into touch on their own 10-metre line. Burton maintained their possession and progressed up to just 5 metres from the try line. Unfortunately, they lost possession and the ball was cleared up field where a knock-on handed the scrum put-in to Bridgnorth just inside their 10-metre line. Another penalty at the scrum gave Bridgnorth the throw at a line-out further up field, however Burton won the ball despite their height disadvantage.
Burton’s next phase with the ball saw them display their excellent handling skills and full-back Alfredo Bergada linked with Bunting who went over the try-line to score Burton’s second try of the half. His successful conversion increased the lead after about 18 minutes play. Burton 12-3 Bridgnorth. Again, Bridgnorth tried to hit back immediately but the Burton defence were up for the challenge and prevented them from doing so, eventually forcing the knock-on for a Burton scrum. Bridgnorth, as expected, demonstrated good handling skills in the loose play but were frustrated by the hard-working and diligent Burton defence. The home spectators could sense a degree of frustration in the Bridgnorth side as Burton continued to re-buff their attempts to dominate the game. A yellow card was shown to a Bridgnorth player as a result of a tip-tackle on Will Simpson and it was Burton who went on the offensive seeking to make the most of their temporary numerical advantage.
As in previous games the penalty count against Burton was rather too high and this allowed Bridgnorth to make some progress into the Burton half, but the home team were in no mood to let things slip and they continued to frustrate their opponents. However, there was a slight switch around in this over the next few minutes and Burton were able to make progress out of their own half only for them to knock-on just inside Bridgnorth territory. The Burton pack started to gain some significant advantage in the scrums shoving their opponents backwards at some pace much to the great delight of the home supporters. Winger, Will Simpson, made a good break to the Bridgenorth “22” and the ball was recycled out to Will Hopwood who found fellow centre, Alex Nesbitt running a great line, with the pass that saw him weave his way past several defenders to score the third try with around 7 or 8 minutes to go until half-time. Bunting added the extras and Burton now held a deserved and significant advantage. Burton 19-3 Bridgnorth.
The visitors then had their best period of the half and made steady but sure progress deep into the Burton half. Their big forwards, for the first time in the game, started to penetrate the home defence a little more often and just as Burton thought they had got to half-time with no further score the last play of the half saw Bridgnorth get their first try on the right. A successful conversion was followed immediately by the half-time whistle and the discussion at half time as all about how significant that score would be. The first half performance by Burton was probably the best seen, so far, at their new ground and they probably felt aggrieved by the late concession which gave a glimmer of hope to their visitors. Burton 19-10 Bridgnorth.
The second half started in positive fashion for Burton as they won an early penalty, kicked and won the line-out on the Bridgenorth “22” then made progress through the forwards just short of the try line. Eventually a Bridgnorth clearance kick was charged down resulting in a 22 metre drop out. From here Bridgnorth started to show their forwards strength and enjoyed a sustained period of possession, which saw them get into the Burton “22”. Burton though defended admirably and almost broke free with an interception by Jackson who unfortunately, could not hold on to the ball. The referee’s interpretation of this was a deliberate knock on and he sent the unlucky Jackson to the sin bin for 10 minutes.
Shortly after this Burton suffered another blow when James Davies was forced to leave the pitch with an injury. Ben Smith was introduced as his replacement and the game continued with Bridgnorth piling on the pressure. Burton’s defence again was excellent but following an inevitable penalty, Burton conceded a converted try to the right of the posts after 15 minutes. Burton 19-17 Bridgnorth. Following the re-start there was another injury delay as a result of injuries to two Bridgnorth players. Matt Tivey was replaced by Corey Beck and Burton had to continue their defensive efforts as Bridgnorth looked dangerous and hungry for more points. They mounted sustained attacks on a stoic home defence and were eventually rewarded with a try in the left corner following good handling from the right. The difficult conversion was missed but Bridgnorth had taken the lead for the first time in the match halfway through the second period. Burton 19-22 Bridgnorth.
Burton then responded with their own period of possession, which appeared to unsettle their opponents and it was not too long before a small skirmish broke out, which lead, disappointingly, to the issuing of a yellow card to each side, even though Burton were not the initiators. Despite Burton’s numerical disadvantage in the scrum one of the biggest cheers of the afternoon came about as they drove the Bridgnorth scrum backwards and were awarded a penalty inside the Bridgnorth “22”. A 5-metre line-out followed and James Davies broke off the ensuing maul to score Burton’s bonus point try wide on the right. An excellent conversion was added by Bunting so with just a little over 10 minutes to play Burton had re-taken the lead. Burton 26-22 Bridgnorth.
As Bridgnorth continued to dominate possession the penalty count against Burton, which was already high, increased further but despite this Burton’s defence held firm as the final few minutes ticked away very slowly. Bridgnorth however were to have the last say when their pressure resulted in the final score of the game with an unconverted try giving them the narrowest of leads with just 3 minutes to play. Burton 26-27 Bridgnorth. Bridgnorth did not give Burton any opportunity to regain the lead as they continued to test Burton’s defence with powerful forward play. On one occasion they did get over the try line, but the referee ruled that burton had prevented the grounding of the ball.
There were good individual performances all over the pitch in the Burton team and their resolve had been thoroughly tested by a very good top of the league side. Spirits were justifiably high, although tinged with a little disappointment that they had come so close to causing a big upset. Man of the match was awarded to hooker/prop Tommie Collingwood.