Burton Under 16`s hosted LONG EATON RFC in a friendly fixture.

SQUAD LIST

Bowles, Cole, Dealtry, Dingley, Dolman, Finney, Furner, Greenwood, Hulland, Marshall, Mason, Mckendrick, Melsome, Mycock, Rippin, Roden, Shaw, Titley, Valentine, Welsford, Whitehouse.

STARTING LINE-UP

1. Loose Head Prop – Josh Shaw
2. Hooker – Max Mckendrick
3. Tight Head Prop – Josh Greenwood
4. 2nd Row – Taylor Dealtry
5. 2nd Row – Curtis Marshall
6. Blind Side Flanker – Ben Hulland (Pack Leader)
7. Open Side Flanker – Joe Mycock
8. Number 8 – Ben Whitehouse (Captain)
9. Scrum Half – Alex Finney
10. Fly Half – George Roden
11. Left Wing – Ross Rippin
12. Inside Centre – Sam Valentine
13. Outside Centre – Sheridan Cole
14. Right Wing – Taylor Dingley
15. Full Back – Lewis Mason

MATCH REPORT

The match started with a Burton kick off into the bright winter sunshine. The ball was driven straight back & was met by a flat defensive line of black & white shirts led by Max Mckendrick. The first ruck was formed & Taylor Dealtry was straight into the thick of things by clearing out at least 3 players to win turnover ball. Alex Finney ran up & dug out the ball before passing it unto the supporting George Roden. The ball then went unto Sam Valentine who got over the gain line but was tackled in mid-field.

After a fast & furious start, Long Eaton counter-attacked down their right. The ball was kicked downfield & the full back started a macey run but up-stepped Ross Rippin who put in an awesome tackle to snuff out danger. From the resultant line-out, Burton rose high to secure ball & set-up play on half way. The forwards piled in & after several phases, found themselves within the 22 metre area. Captain Ben Whitehouse got the ball & saw a small gap. Whitehouse drove forward & dived for the line but placed the ball down just short due to the try line white wash not being clear.

On 16 mins, Burton were not to be denied when after another several phases from Burton’s hard working forwards, got then to 5 metres out, when Ben Hulland got hands on ball & dived over to open the scoring. Valentine’s conversion slipped wide of the far upright.

The try gave the crofter’s confidence. However, tackles were being missed in mid-field & soon Burton found themselves within their own 22. On 22 mins, Long Eaton were attacking down the right, the ball came loose & Joe Mycock was the first to react. He secured the ball for his team before starting a move that went pick & go, pick & go, Pick & go several times the length of the pitch to within the visitor’s 22 before Sheridan Cole got his hands on ball. Cole raced from right to left before side stepping 2 defenders before diving over to cap a brilliant team try. The celebration amongst the players had reflected the effort what the whole team had put in from their own area. Valentine coolly stepped up & slotted the conversion straight through the posts.

Long Eaton were playing some great rugby. They raced through mid-field & had a 3 man overlap until Lewis Mason tackled back to save a certain try. However, nothing could be done after several Burton infringements led to the visitor’s drove over from 5 metres out to score under the posts.

Burton were straight back. With the kick off not going 10 metres, a scrum on the half way led to an almighty shove on set before The Crofter’s moved down the left. The forwards phase play was again paying dividends with the brilliant Ben Hulland diving over for his brace to re-establish the lead. The conversion was missed to leave the score at half time Burton 17 – 7 Long Eaton.
BURTON 17 (Tries – Hulland 2, Cole Con - Valentine)
LONG EATON 7
The 2nd half started with Long Eaton kicking off. Burton had rung the changes to their tight five to include Adam Dolman, Abe Furner, Bradley Melsome, Mark Titley & Ryan Welsford with Danny Bowles coming into the back line. Burton’s performance level remained the same. After 10 mins of end to end rugby, Josh Shaw again drove forward with the hosts 22. Josh Greenwood took it on before Joe Mycock was on hand to dive over to extend the lead. The conversion was missed.
Long Eaton was not to be outdone & were playing the better rugby. Their hard work was rewarded when after a line-out in Burton’s half led to a breakaway. The hosts were slow to react & the visitor’s scored their 2nd try of the day. The conversion from a tight angle was just short.
The visitor’s were again threatening & got hands on ball. Just as they were about to breakaway again. Taylor Dingley tracked his opposite number from way on the right to the bottom left corner before putting in an awesome tackle to break up play. That led to the visitor’s infringement & Joe Mycock took a quick tap& go before stepping left then right before diving over for his brace try. Valentine slotted the conversion for the extras.
Burton’s play was really sharp. Long Eaton kept asking a lot of questions but some last ditch tackling ensured the lead was protected. With time running down, Burton forwards got another head of steam & from 10 metres out, Curtis Marshall capped another fine display by scoring his first try for the club. Valentine kicked his conversion to leave the final score Burton 36 – 12 Long Eaton.
BURTON 29 ((Tries – Hulland 2, Cole, Mycock 2, Marshall Con – Valentine 3)
LONG EATON 12 (FT)
A special mention goes to Mark Titley who played his part in his first game of the season.

The Coaching Team would like to congratulate Long Eaton RFC for playing their part in an excellent game of rugby. Well done guys & good luck for the rest of the season.