Playing in their second Staffordshire county game of the season, Burton U14s hosted Stoke on the Ox-hay. Crisp and sunny weather provided the opportunity for a great game of rugby. Burton have not played Stoke at this age group since the days of the minis festival, as such the young Crofters were unaware what to expect from the Staffordshire Plate holders.
The visitors kicked off and Burton were soon scrapping for the ball. From the first whistle, Stoke proved to be more willing to put their bodies into contact and had good hands when they shipped the ball out. Burton’s defence was often panicky and this led to a steady stream of tries to the visitors as the young Crofters battled on improving their efforts and communication throughout and steadily working the phases in both directions. The first half ended with the score 22 points in the favour of the visitors whilst the home team had not managed to cross the line.
Encouraged to up the work rate and stick to the skills being learnt in training, Burton graced the field for the second half with cooler heads. Their opposition soon realised that Burton were not going to give them an easy ride, as Burton strung together phase after phase and pushed the opposition deep into their own half. Showing good handling and a desire to win the ball at the breakdown, Burton had several sorties towards the Stoke try line. After flirting with the line for some time, the Crofters’ hard work was rewarded when Max Williams crossed the whitewash. Despite repeated attempts to cross the Stoke line, this proved to be Burton’s only try of the day. Stoke’s ability to soak up Burton pressure was only surpassed by their ability to counter attack as the visitors also upped their game to keep the score board ticking over. The game ended with Burton having scored 5 points but unfortunately conceded 46 to their guests.
At the final whistle, Burton had given a good account of themselves against an opposition who played at a level above their own. The fact that Stoke used to good effect the same skills and tactics that Burton are developing shows promise for the young Crofters’ future. With 31 registered players, Burton are looking forward to the next 2 weeks’ friendly fixtures to develop further in preparation for the next County fixture against local rivals Lichfield early in November.
Players involved in the game were:
Tom Benjamin, Jacob Brown, Ewan Collins, Taylor Dealtry, Tai Fellows, Alex Finney, Abe Furner, Josh Greenwood, Ben Howlett, Ben Hulland, Matty Knowles, Haydn Mabbot, Lewis Mason, Max McKendrick, Harry Pickett (Capt), George Roden, Josh Shaw, Lewis Sturgess, Josh Thorman, Charlie Tunstall, Max Williams