County Cup Win for Burton

This Staffordshire County Cup semi-final tie was played under lights at Battlestead Croft on Friday 12 November 2021 and the large crowd attending were rewarded with a highly competitive and hard fought game of rugby, played in great spirit between two rivals experiencing differing fortunes in their respective league campaigns. Stoke were unbeaten so far this season in Midlands West 1, whilst Burton recorded only their second league win in the Midlands Premier League against Dudley Kingswinford last Saturday.

With a strong wind blowing directly across the pitch open, handling rugby was unlikely to be on the cards but it was exactly this style that Burton sought to play right from the start. Great handling from left to right and back again saw them progress deep into Stoke territory until a knock on brought the first attack to an end. A strong drive in the scrum from Stoke gave them the platform to clear the ball up to their own 10 metre line. Having secured the line-out ball and progressed again inside the Stoke “22”, Chaz Bunting made a decisive break down the left touch line and opened the scoring with a well taken try in the left corner after just 4 minutes play. The conversion against the wind proved too much for Bunting but Burton had the early lead, Burton 5-0 Stoke.

Over the next few minutes the game was punctuated by a series of penalties which meant there was little in the way of flow. Even more disappointing was that the high penalty count continued for the rest of the match, much to the disappointment and frustration of players and spectators alike. Both teams found the conditions difficult to cope with but Burton looked to have the upper hand in these early stages. Burton spectators were delighted by some excellent handling once again which saw Tristan De Jagger go over in the left corner. However the try was disallowed for a forward pass spotted by the referee, who instead brought play back to the right for a Burton penalty. This was then reversed for a Stoke penalty as Burton players must have voiced their disappointment too strongly for the referee’s liking!

Burton, still feeling aggrieved, lost their momentum in the game and were penalised for a variety of offences which meant Stoke were able to mount their first attack of the game. Eventually a line-out catch and drive saw them score their first points with the successful conversion giving them the lead just over half way through the first half. Burton 5-7 Stoke. From the restart Stoke moved the ball well from left to right but they too found handling difficult in the windy conditions and eventually knocked on for a scrum to Burton. Scrappy play over the next few minutes saw neither team make much in the way of progress but Burton’s defensive work was solid as Stoke’s attempts to penetrate were impressively rebuffed.

Towards the end of the first half Burton were unlucky not to take the lead once again as Burton’s backs moved the ball very smartly out to Elliot Grant on the right but he was forced into touch as the try line beckoned. However almost immediately in the next phase of play Burton re-took the lead as great handling saw the ball reach De Jagger for a score in the left corner after 36 minutes. The conversion again was blown off target once again. Burton 10-7 Stoke. The re-start was kicked deep into Burton territory and a good clearance saw them back up to their own 10 metre line for a Stoke throw. The final action of the half saw Stoke trying without success to break through the home defence. Another penalty against Burton gave Stoke the chance to level up the scores but the penalty kick hit the post, Burton cleared their lines and the referee blew his whistle for half time.

The early action in the second half was dominated by a series of penalties, one of which Stoke missed a further attempt to level up the scores. From the resulting drop out Stoke put pressure on the home try line and eventually the referee signalled for a penalty try to Stoke after 5 minutes. Burton 10-14 Stoke. Play and possession fluctuated either side of the half way line for the next few minutes until a penalty to Burton was kicked to touch on the Stake “22” for a Burton throw. A break from Jamie Dutton penetrated the Stoke defence and his try was converted by Will Simpson meant Burton re-took the lead after 13 minutes. Burton 17-14 Stoke.

From the restart Grant chased well and forced the stoke full back into touch. A further penalty in Burton’s favour was quickly taken by Will Hopwood and he touched down for another try on the right. Simpson made no mistake with the conversion to open up a healthy lead. Burton 24-14 Stoke. The next score again went to Burton and was arguably the try of the match. A slick handling move down the backs to outside centre Alex Nesbitt who was just inside his own half, used his power and pace to brilliantly break through the defence. He then offloaded to supporting scrum half, Bunting, who scored under the posts. Simpson converted and Burton looked in full control of the game with 20 minutes to play. Burton 31-14 Stoke.

Confidence levels in the home team were noticeably high and the quality of their attacking improved and they made great progress into the Stoke “22” where Josh Kent made a decisive break from a maul and linked well with the Supporting Dutton who scored another try for the home team on the left after about 25 minutes. The conversion was just off target again but Burton had a substantial lead. Burton 36-14 Stoke. It was no surprise that Stoke were not about to roll over and give up as they tried to get back into the game with about 15 minute to play. A combination of good handling and some rather sloppy defence meant Stoke were next to score a converted try under the posts. Burton 36-21 Stoke. However the home team were to have the last say when they had made good progress into the Stoke danger zone and James Davies broke off a maul about 10 metres out and scored what was to be the last try of the game with 2 minutes to go. Simpson converted well to make the score Burton 43-21 Stoke.

The final action of the game took place around the half way line with Burton’s defence in dominant fashion to secure their place in the final – something to really look forward to later in the season. Man of the match was awarded to fly half, Dutton who had shown great composure and skill in his performance as well as scoring 2 well taken tries.