Open Running Game at Battlestead Croft

Burton were unlucky not to get a second bonus point out of this game against high flying Newport (Salop), which was much more closely contested than the two teams respective positions in the Midlands Premier League would have suggested. Confidence within the Burton team was high going into this game following the last two weeks results and the impeccably observed minute’s silence tribute to Fran Bartram before kick off seemed to give the hosts a boost as they had the best of the early exchanges in terms of possession.

Neither side found handling rugby easy with a strong breeze blowing down the pitch into the faces of the home team in the first half. The ball was, unsurprisingly, knocked on frequently by both teams and the flow of the game was a little disjointed. However it was Newport who were first to score after around 10 minutes of the half following some sustained possession saw them progress slowly into the Burton danger zone. A try was almost inevitable in spite of some excellent defensive work by Burton and it came with a converted try just to the right of the posts. Burton 0-7 Newport.

Burton looked to hit back straight away following the re-start and indeed made good progress up to the Newport 5 metre line however a clearance kick saw play move back to almost half way and it was clear that Newport were going to be difficult to break down. Burton were enjoying good line-out possession and scrums at this stage were encouragingly even. Burton tried to pressurise as much as they could but were kept at bay by solid defensive play by the visitors. A great catch at the back of a line-out by James Davies saw him lead an attack but his attack was turned over by Newport. Play continued in the central area of the pitch for the next few minutes as neither team looked to give anything away.

The next score went to Burton after some decent forwards possession was released through the backs and Alex Nesbitt cut through the defensive line and raced away to score under the posts. Will Simpson added the extras to bring the scores level about half way through the first half. Burton 7-7 Newport. Burton then began to show their re-found confidence and started to make some real headway which also saw an increasing Newport penalty count over the next few minutes. Having got themselves into the Newport “22” Burton opted to kick a penalty which Simpson converted in the 25 minute. Burton 10-7 Newport.

Having gone into the lead Burton were then guilty of switching off a little and were punished following a missed tackle in centre field which saw Newport score a break away converted try 3 minutes later. Burton 10-14 Newport. A mistake from the kick off gave additional momentum to Newport who moved the ball from right to left and back again to score their bonus point try in the right hand corner. A brilliant conversion meant the lead was extended further after 32 minutes. Burton 10-21 Newport.

From the re-start Newport kicked the ball back into the Burton half for a throw, which was taken quickly and Tristan De Jager made an excellent break before linking with Elliot Grant who was then forced into touch on the right hand side. Burton continued to force errors at the Newport line-outs and this lead to the next score for Burton. Several phases of play ended when Simpson touched down to score just to the right of the posts after 37 minutes. He successfully converted his own try to reduce the deficit to just 4 points again. Burton 17-21 Newport.

Unfortunately for Burton they were unable to see out the final two or three remaining minutes to half time in spite of another promising handling move which saw them progress up to the Newport 22 metre line where they were penalised. The clearance kick took Newport up to the half way line and they retained possession and several phases later their right winger came into the line and cut through the home defence rather too easily to score the final try of the half. The kick proved too difficult and the referee signalled for the half time break. Burton 17-26 Newport.

The second half commenced with Burton not collecting the kick off but Bunting was able to clear from the resulting line-out up to the 10 metre line. Burton seemed a little lack lustre in the early stages of this half and were punished after just 7 minutes when Newport scored another converted try again, it must be said, a little too easily. Burton 17-33 Newport. However Burton to their credit rallied quickly and were soon into the Newport danger zone thanks to a break by De Jager. A good period of possession by forwards and backs alike was then rewarded when Nesbitt scored his second try of the game from close range 12 minutes into the second half. Simpson converted successfully to reduce the deficit to just 9 points. Burton 24-33 Newport.

The next few minutes were dominated by errors from both sides which was a sign of the fact that they were very much cancelling each other out. Burton had the next attack though as they went in search of further points. A strange decision by the otherwise very good referee gave Burton a scrum rather than a penalty and kick deprived Burton of another chance to pressurise the Newport line. Burton were kept at bay on the Newport 22 metre line following another good handling move. The game then turned a little scrappy over the next few minutes with mistakes aplenty on either side!

Newport then managed to put together several phases of play and along with the help of a couple of penalties were able to put the home team under pressure again. Despite a sterling effort by a resilient Burton defence, Newport pressed again but Burton held out and were awarded a drop out from under their own posts. Their resilience finally subsided and Newport scored their final unconverted try of the game after 29 minutes. Burton 24-38 Newport. Burton felt they were still very much in the game and made progress into the Newport half. A penalty from a scrum gave Burton the chance to attack once again from the line-out on the 5 metre line. A great catch and drive saw Davies score wide on the left with just over 5 minutes of the game left. Simpson just missed the difficult conversion but Burton were still in with a chance to clinch a second bonus point. Burton 29-38 Newport.

Their final chance of the game arose when a penalty was awarded to Burton for an infringement in the scrum. Simpson quite rightly was asked to kick to touch which he did splendidly to give Burton the throw at the line-out on the Newport 5 metre line. Unfortunately the Newport defence held out and the referee blew the final whistle. Man of the match was deservedly given to Lewis Sturgess, who was one of many in the forwards who impressed in a very pleasing performance which should give the squad a great lift for the next few fixtures, which on this form are winnable.