Confidence Building Win For Burton

In this first ever fixture between the two teams, a good crowd at Battlestead Croft witnessed an excellent match played in very windy conditions. It was also a fitting testament to John French, who sadly passed away last weekend, for whom an impeccably observed minute’s silence took place just before kick-off.

Oundle started the game better than Burton despite their knock on from the kick off as the resulting scrum went alarmingly backwards for the home team and it appeared that it might be another difficult day for the Burton pack! However it was the home team that opened the scoring following some excellent defensive work that lead to the award of a penalty, which Chaz Bunting took quickly and linked with Tristan De Jager who returned the pass to Bunting for him score a try to the left of the posts after just 5 minutes. The conversion was missed against the wind but Burton had an early lead. Burton 5-0 Oundle.

The re-start saw Oundle regain possession and progress slowly up to the Burton “22” on the left. Unfortunately Jack Barry Neal was forced to leave the field early with an ankle injury and he was replaced by Tommie Collingwood. Oundle enjoyed the majority of possession although they were kept well checked by some more dominant defence by Burton. A good clearing kick saw Burton get back up to half way and they then stole the ball from the line-out to mount their first attack of the game. This eventually brought about a penalty just outside the Oundle “22” which Bunting made no mistake with to increase the lead after 8 minutes of the half.. Burton 8-0 Oundle.

Burton moved the ball to the left again from the kick-off but a knock-on gave the scrum to Oundle on the Burton 10 metre line. Oundle then continued to retain possession deep into Burton territory and although Burton managed to overturn this they were then penalised to give Oundle the opportunity to reduce the deficit, which was taken despite the kick against the wind after 13 minutes. Burton 8-3 Oundle.

The re-start was misjudged by Oundle and the ball went into touch just beyond the 10 metre line. The Oundle line-out was really struggling with the conditions and as a result Burton enjoyed the best of the possession over the next few minutes. Having got up to the “22” Jamie Dutton pierced the Oundle defence with a grubber kick, which Will Hopwood latched onto and scored Burton’s second try on the right after 17 minutes. The conversion was unsuccessful but Burton’s clinical finishing was rewarded to extend the lead further. Burton 13-3 Oundle.

Burton got their tactics right and used the wind to their full advantage and were rewarded with the next score just over half way through the first period. With the ball on the left Burton moved the ball beautifully through the hands and full-back Alfredo Bergada scored on the right. Bunting this time slotted the conversion and Burton fully deserved their extended lead. Burton 20-3 Oundle.

It was pleasing to see that despite the difficult conditions both teams wanted to play good rugby from start to finish. Oundle’s style was very much a patient “rumble rumble” through the forwards where as Burton are capable of both this and more explosive running rugby. As a consequence the game was entertaining and very competitive, particularly from a defensive point of view. The ball was kept in play rather than kicking for touch and risking the “lottery” of a line-out. This without doubt suited Burton’s style of play and it was no surprise that they scored their bonus point try with just under 10 minutes of the half remaining. Dutton was the scorer this time as the ball was adeptly handled from left to right for Dutton to touch down on the right. Although the conversion was unsuccessful Burton were building a commanding lead and had already secured a bonus point. A yellow card was shown to one of the Oundle players for foul play in the build up to that try. Burton 25-3 Oundle. To their credit Oundle continued in their favoured style and they were rewarded with the next score just before the break. Relentless pressure on the Burton line eventually broke through stubborn home resistance and a brilliantly converted try was the final action of the half. Burton 25-10 Oundle.

The start to the second half was explosive from Burton, who probably had a major “telling off” during the half time break for conceding that late try. Burton won possession from the kick-off, Dutton made a crucial break through the Oundle defence and again fed the supporting Hopwood who scored on the left with less than a minute gone. The conversion against the wind was superb and Burton looked well in command even at that early stage. Burton 32-10 Oundle.

In spite of this early setback for Oundle, they continued to play in the same way and made steady progress into Burton territory only for their attack to be halted by either a knock-on or excellent Burton defending. A series of penalty decisions against both teams meant the flow of the game was really disrupted over the next few minutes. However it was the home team that got back into gear first as Tommie Collingwood burst through the Oundle defence for an unconverted try half way through the second period. Burton 37-10.

Oundle responded again when a poor pass in midfield was intercepted on the half-way line resulting in an unconverted try in the right corner after 23 minutes. Burton 37-15 Oundle. Burton then struggled to regain any flow or pattern to their game and Oundle enjoyed the lions share of possession until replacement Elliott Grant superbly intercepted an Oundle pass on half-way and ran unopposed to score a converted try under the posts to seal a great victory with around 4 minutes to go. Burton 44-15 Oundle.

However Oundle were not yet finished as they continued to play right up to the end of the game and managed to secure their own try bonus point with the last play of the game eventually breaking down the stubborn home defence for an unconverted try to make the final score Burton 44-20 Oundle. Two try scoring Will Hopwood was man of the match in an impressive all-round team performance. Burton move to 9th place in the league table equal on points with Broadstreet and looking to build on their increasing confidence levels by picking up more points away at Paviors (Nottingham) next week.