Nottingham Casuals vs Burton Under 10's

A squad including all the new players with a few 'seasoned' players went to Nottingham.

Over both games the contest was close. The first began with determined tackling and Burton having the lions share of the play, which eventually resulted in a searing run from Phillipe, beating several players to cross for the first score. Throughout the first half , there continued to be some fierce physical confrontations with Joe Bevan, Abby and Ellis being at the forefront.With only a few minutes to go before half-time, a few missed tackles by Burton, led to an equalising score from Nottingham. The second half began with a 'new look' team being refreshed with the 'other half' of the squad but the action continued much along the lines of the first, with Noah and debutant Reuben, taking over responsibilities of bringing down the opposition. The passing game suffered from the compression of play, but that also indicated how keen everyone was to be involved. A draw would probably have been a fair result for everyone's endeavour, but again the outcome of the match hung on some missed tackles by Burton, which Nottingham took advantage of to run out winners, two tries to one.

The final score of the second match was more emphatic in favour of Nottingham, 6-3, but this scoreline belied the closeness of the contest. Again the debutants from Burton, gave a good account of themselves and determined runs by Alex, Liam, Matty and Brandon, all showed promise for the future. The three Burton tries were all notable, Noah with some quick thinking to take the ball from a maul on the run and continue to the line unopposed, Joe, with good use of the blindside from a scrum and a mazy, run by Erwin from a restart, which probably beat every member of the Nottingham team, some of them twice!

Again there were able supporting roles from Theo, Ben and William, who provided ever present determination and commitment. The only blight on the match was an unfortunate injury to Liam, who had to be substituted, sustained in the midst of a tackle.

To add to all, the threatened showers held off and the game was played in a competitive but fair spirit by all. Thank you to Nottingham Casuals for their hospitality.