An away trip to bottom side Nuneaton seemed an ideal opportunity for an improving Burton team to gain an important win. The very windy conditions, thanks to Storm Arwen, threatened to restrict Burton’s open style of play but thankfully, courage and belief in their own ability shone through as Burton put on an impressive display to gain a bonus point win which moves them up to 10th in the league table, level on points with Dudley Kingswinford.

Burton chose to play with the wind at their backs in the first half and in an early attack set up by a super kick by Jamie Dutton, they moved the ball well through the hands but met with good defensive work from the home team. It was then Nuneaton’s turn to attack as a penalty against Burton set up a line-out on the Burton “22”. This also came to nothing as Burton won the line-out and cleared well using the wind to maximum advantage. In these early stages it was clear that the game would be very competitive with both teams looking difficult to break down. Play swung like a pendulum between the respective 22 metre lines until in the 11th minute Burton scored the first points of the game. Alex Nesbitt chased a through kick deep into Nuneaton territory, managed to gain possession of the ball and dived over the line to score in the left corner. The difficult conversion just missed but Burton had the lead. Nuneaton 0-5 Burton.

Burton were soon in Nuneaton territory again after the re-start but were penalised before they could really threaten the home line and the home team cleared to their 10 metre line, secured the ball from the line-out and although retained the ball for several phases did not make much in the way of territorial progress thanks to Burton’s solid defensive work. The same pattern of play continued for some time and the next score went to Burton once again as a penalty kick from Chaz Bunting after about 22 minutes. Nuneaton 0-8 Burton.

Dutton again made great use of the wind with a return kick following the re-start to take play back into the Nuneaton “22”. A series of knock-ons by both teams in the next few phases affected the flow of the game but it was Burton who again broke this cycle when a great handling move saw Nesbitt, via Jack Barry Neal, send Bunting free to score Burton’s second try of the half under the posts after 29 minutes. Bunting added the extras and Burton were now building a good lead. Nuneaton 0-15 Burton.

The next opportunity to score went to Nuneaton as the rather scrappy phase of play continued without either side threatening to make any breakthrough. Just before half time Nuneaton attempted to kick a penalty but the windy conditions saw that attempt fail. Nuneaton stepped up their effort to get back into the game but this was met with resolute defence by Burton who spent some considerable time penned in, deep in their own half. The half time whistle gave the crowd the chance to get into the clubhouse, out of the wind for a much needed warm!

The second half started with Burton handing the initiative to Nuneaton as they let the kick off go into touch on the 22 metre line. Nuneaton took full advantage of this, following a knock-on in the line-out, and progressed deep into Burton territory eventually scoring a converted try in the left corner. Nuneaton 7-15 Burton. Another mistake from the re-start going straight into touch handed Nuneaton the put in at a scrum on the half way line. Burton then responded in some style having won possession back through a scrum on half way following a lengthy delay for a Nuneaton injury. Some beautiful flowing rugby saw Burton defy the windy conditions with wave after wave of passing movements which ended with Josh Kent scoring in the left corner. A difficult conversion against the wind just missed but Burton had extended their lead to 13 points after 12 minutes of the second half. Nuneaton 7-20 Burton. They wasted no time making good progress deep into home territory with the forwards gaining possession which the backs relished as play progressed into the Nuneaton danger zone. A series of mauls saw the home team defend gallantly in the presence of sustained pressure from Burton. Eventually the referee deemed their efforts illegal and awarded Burton a penalty try. Nuneaton 7-27 Burton.

More Burton pressure came on as they sensed a big win but they were frustrated a little by a combination of spirited defence from the home side and bitterly cold conditions that probably accounted for a high number of knock-ons halting play. A stunning piece of handling skill from Alfredo Bergada was denied a try by an adjudged forward pass in another of Burton’s impressive attacks. Nuneaton then cleared the ball right into the Burton danger zone and secured a 5 metre scrum from which they scored their second converted try of the game after about 30 minutes of the second half. Nuneaton 14-27 Burton.

Burton hit straight back from the re-start following several phases involving forwards and backs alike. Tristan De Jager went over on the left and a fine conversion by Bunting extended Burton’s lead to 20 points. Nuneaton 14-34 Burton. From the restart Burton ran the ball back at Nuneaton hungry for more points. But Nuneaton were not yet finished and they responded with a steady period of possession only for Bergada to break away on the half way line. Unfortunately he could not find a team mate with his attempted pass and the move broke down again.

A series of penalty offences then enabled Nuneaton to push deep into the Burton half but they too were frustrated by the brilliant Burton defence which saw tackle after tackle put in by every member of the team in an attempt to maintain their advantage. Not surprisingly their resistance was overcome for the final score of the game, a converted try, which came in the 38 minute. Nuneaton 21-34 Burton. The remaining time in the half saw Nuneaton push for the bonus point try with play deep in the Burton danger zone. However Burton showed their fighting spirit with a dogged defence keeping out attack after attack from close range to secure an important and fine win. It was particularly pleasing to see some new faces fitting in well to the team with Segundo de Olmos and Cyrus Griffiths catching the eye with impressive performances at prop and wing respectively. There were impressive performances all over the pitch from 1-18 all playing their part in a stylish bonus point win in very difficult conditions.