After the disappointment of the loss and performance at St. Benedict’s Burn had a point to prove as they travelled up to Cumbria for the second week in a row and they eventually managed to prove their point as they ran out with a resounding victory with both Matt Hughes and Jake Maher scoring hat-tricks.

Despite the final score Burn certainly didn’t have it all their own way and this was true right from the start as HP scored a try and conversion within a minute of the kick off. The HP fullback had caught a kick on his own 10 metre line, the kick chase by Burn was unusually poor and the fullback cruised through big gaps in Burn’s defence, the covering Burn players were unable to stop him and his weaving run saw him score under the posts. Last week Burn made a quick start to catch St. Benedict’s out, this week it was Burn who appeared to be half asleep. Burn began to wake up, a couple of good runs from Matt Hughes sparked this, which took play close to the HP’s try line. Then on 9 minutes Tony Thoma scored, the ball was feed to him just yards from the HP line, at first he looked like he had been stopped, but good power gave him another surge which enabled him to just crash over the line to score. Sam Morgan added the 2 extra points. However, HP were well up for the battle and they went ahead again after their second try on 18 minutes. From a line out in the Burn 22 the ball was released to the stand in fly half who I believe was a last minute convert from the second row, he used his size to barge through defenders to drop over the line. The lead didn’t last long as Burn replied with a try just 2 minutes later, from a 5 metre scrum the ball was fed to Craig Aikman, he drew a man before passing to Rick Maudsley on the wing who managed to score in the corner. The conversion was missed, but Burn were back on level terms. HP were still not letting Burn loose and actually went ahead again with a penalty kick. However after this Burn started to take control, this started with a try and conversion on 29 minutes. Marc Maher gained a little revenge on his opposite fly half, the Burn man showed quick feet to leave his bigger opponent standing, this gave Maher the space to break into the HP 22, it looked like he would be stopped, but he managed to shake off the HP defenders to score under the post’s. This took the score to 19-15 to Burn and they scored another try on 31 minutes, this time it was Matt Hughes who had been fed the ball a few metres out, he lunged for the line, HP felt they had forced him into touch, however the try was awarded despite the protests of some of the HP players. The conversion was missed, but Burn had managed to secure the bonus point for 4 tries. They were far from over for the half and in particular Matt Hughes as he scored 2 more tries to complete a hat-trick. The first of these came from turnover ball in Burn’s own 22, Nick King had driven forward, he flipped the ball onto Nathan Bowen, he then passed to the backs and the ball eventually arrived with Matt Hughes well within his own half, he had a one on one with his opposite man, Hughes’ pace saw him glide round the HP winger and go on to score. Sam Morgan was unable to kick the conversion, but Burn had stretched their lead to 29-15. On 38 minutes Matt Hughes completed his hat-trick, again it was from turn over ball in the Burn 22, this time the ball just went through the backs and as it reach Matt Hughes, he again had a one on one, this time he didn’t have the space to go round the outside, so instead he stood his man up and used his strength to barge his way over him, he then managed to quickly get in his stride and no-one was going to catch him. Sam Morgan kicked the conversion and Burn had a 36-15 half time lead.

The second half was a strange one with HP having the majority of possession and territory, in the first 20 minutes Burn could hardly get out of their half, with HP showing good determination to get back in the game and they looked the more likely to score, but on 20 minutes a great tackle by Anton Garcia on his own 22 forced a turnover, sub Jake Maher pounced on the ball, he then sprinted the rest of the pitch to score, it looked like the HP retreating defenders were closing, however Maher just went into another gear and cruised under the sticks. Sam Morgan added the extra points. Another try soon followed, again a tackle forced a loose ball, Sam Morgan received the ball and made ground, he drew a man and passed to Jake Maher, he then did a dummy switch before drawing the last man and passing to Rick Maudsley who ran in from 20 metres out for his second try. On 65 minutes Burn took the score to 55-15 with a try and conversion. Loose ball had seen Matt Hughes pick the ball up on his own try line, he ran along the line to try and find space to head up the pitch, he managed to straighten his run and saw his pace take him well into the HP half, he then chipped on, Jake Maher chased the ball along with 2 HP players, however Maher managed to kick it on again and then had enough pace and composure to fall on the ball as it crossed the try line. HP got a consolation penalty try on 72 minutes, but Burn were not finished yet and scored another try on 76 minutes. From a scrum on the HP 10 metre line Marc Maher made a break before feeding his brother Jake who crashed through the remaining defenders to score his third try. Sam Morgan added the 2 points to make the score 62-22. This is how the score finished, although to their credit it was HP who were pressing at the end, but Burn’s defence held strong.

While in the end this was a comfortable win, Burn were not at their best and HP were competitive for chunks of the game, but Burn were clinical and scored some excellent counter attacking tries. They will look to work hard this coming week at training and try to correct some areas before they welcome Furness to Ramsgreave Drive next week.