Burton travelled to Bridgnorth in high spirits after last weeks thrilling win against Sheffield but made the worst possible start after a brief game of kick tennis which saw Bridgnorth win a line-out on the Burton “22”. From this the home team secured the ball and drove the maul rather too easily to touch down under the posts. The extra points were a formality and Burton trailed by seven points within a minute. Burton hit back immediately, collecting the re-start kick in the air and recycling quickly. The backs showed their great handling skills as they moved the ball to the right to winger Alfie Grant who touched down 15 metres from the touch line. Chaz Bunting just missed with the conversion so the score after just 2 minutes was Bridgnorth 7-5 Burton.

The Bridgnorth re-start kick went straight into touch so Burton were awarded a scrum back on the half way line. Having won this Burton first moved the ball left then right making good headway to the Bridgnorth 5 metre line. Unfortunately the ball was then cleared by the home team but only to Grant who set off on a penetrative run well supported by several teammates. Following a skilful interchange of passes Grant received the ball back and scored his and Burton’s second try of the game. Bunting added the extra points and Burton were in the lead, Bridgnorth 7-12 Burton.

A mistake from the re-start was soon rectified and Burton again took play to the Bridgnorth 10 metre line where there was a lengthy delay for an injury to Josh Kent who was thankfully able to continue. The next few minutes of the game was very open and both teams were looking to run with the ball as much as possible with Burton arguably looking the more dangerous.

In the 14th minute Burton were forced to make positional changes as Bunting received a knock and was taken off. Nico Watkins came on at centre and Alex Nesbitt moved out the the wing. Fortunately Bunting was able to return after a minute or so and it was back to the original line up. Bridgnorth were using a kicking game as it appeared they were worried by Burton’s strength in the backs! Jamie Dutton dealt particularly well with one of these kicks but was forced to knock on in the tackle which ended a promising run. Bridgnorth used their weight advantage as they drove Burton back several metres. With a penalty advantage in their favour Bridgnorth were kept at bay by the Burton defence so the referee came back for the penalty and Bridgnorth were able to kick into the Burton “22” for a line out. Here they sustained their attacking momentum, winning the line out and eventually wearing down the Burton defence to score their second try on the left. The conversion was successful and Bridgnorth took the lead again to make the score Bridgnorth 14-12 Burton.

There was a repeat of this action as Burton were penalised and Bridgnorth’s superiority in the scrum put more pressure on the Burton pack and it was no surprise when Bridgnorth added to their score after 25 minutes with a converted try on the left wing. Bridgnorth 21-12 Burton. To their credit Burton tried to hit back straight away and secured a period of possession themselves and it was Bridgnorth’s turn to give away a series of penalties. This saw Burton move into the Bridgnorth “22” but they were unable to make any further progress. However they were awarded a penalty after 30 minutes which they decided to try and get 3 point back. Unfortunately the kick just missed and the away supporters felt that was an opportunity lost.

The teams then exchanged a further series of penalties approaching half time and it was Bridgnorth who made a critical breakthrough after several passages of play deep in Burton territory. A converted try extended their lead to Bridgnorth 28-12 Burton. Yet again Burton showed their fighting spirit by looking to respond. A number of high tackles had gone unpunished as the half wore on although the referee eventually issued a yellow card to Bridgnorth for pulling down a Burton jumper in the line out. For all their effort and endeavour Burton failed to get the score they probably deserved and had to settle for a half time score of Bridgnorth 28-12 Burton.

The second half saw Bridgnorth quick out of the blocks as they had been in the first and they scored an unconverted try on the right in the first minute! Bridgnorth 33-12 Burton. The home team really had their tails up now and returned to the Burton “22” very quickly. The Burton scrum again came under enormous pressure and despite a great break by Lewis Sturgess, Burton were eventually penalised at a ruck and from the resulting line out Bridgnorth scored a converted try to extend their lead further in the 5th minute. Bridgnorth 40-12 Burton.

With the pressure now clearly getting to the Burton team, mistakes began to increase and Bridgnorth were happy to carry on applying it. Even so they too made errors but they were much the happier team with the inevitable scrum that ensued. Having pinned Burton back on their own 5 metre line, an other push over try was an almost inevitable outcome about half way through the second period and the successful conversion took the score to Bridgnorth 47-12 Burton.

Again to their great credit Burton tried to rally once again and were able to secure some possession over the next few minutes. Harry Titley produced a delightful kick out of his hands to take play almost up to the Bridgnorth try line and the chasing players gave the home team little option but to clear to their “22”. Further pressure resulted in another penalty to Burton and a further line out on home team’s 5 metre line was stolen by Bridgnorth just as it seemed likely that Burton would score! Bunting then made a great break down the left but Bridgnorth were able to clear once again. Shortly after this Burton were awarded another penalty on the Bridgnorth 5 metre line and James Davies touched down for Burton’s 3rd try of the game on the left. Bunting converted to take the score to Bridgnorth 40- 19 Burton with 6 minutes left to play.

Burton knocked on from the re-start and Bridgnorth immediately seized possession of the ball and forced Burton right back to their own line. A yellow card was then shown to Ben Smith and the pressure was too much for Burton as Bridgnorth scored their last converted try of the game in the 37th minute to increase their lead again. Bridgnorth 54-19 Burton. However Burton did manage to get a bonus point try with the last play of the game when Davies touched down to the left of the posts, which Bunting converted to make the final score Bridgnorth 54-26 Burton.

Another disappointing result for a Burton team that lacked power in the set scrum but showed great touches in open play and most importantly massive character and effort all round the team. Man of the match for Burton was Lewis Sturgess who coped incredibly well with difficult ball in the scrum, worked tirelessly in the loose and made a number of fine runs with ball in hand.

Report by Rob Nesbitt