Burton consolidated their mid-table position with a fine try bonus point win over close rivals, Dudley Kingswinford, at a bright but breezy Battlestead Croft. The very breezy conditions, blowing directly down the pitch made it a game of two very different halves but it was Burton who coped the better and ran out worthy winners. Dudley kicked off the game playing against the breeze in the first half and found themselves in their own half following a good clearance kick from Chaz Bunting from behind the first maul of the game. Dudley had the better of the early exchanges as they made their way up to the Burton “22” but Burton won the line-out and relieved this early pressure.
Dudley maintained possession and concentrated on going down the blind side on the right until they knocked on just outside the Burton “22”. They were then penalised for pushing too early in the scrum and Burton cleared to half-way between the Dudley 10-metre and 22-metre lines. From the next scrum Burton produced a great drive to set up their first multi-phase possession of their own, which saw them progress right up to the Dudley 5-metre line. Unfortunately, Burton were guilty of making some handling errors which put an end to their first real threat on the Dudley line.
The first score of the game came after about 13 minutes when as a result of a Dudley handling error, Alfredo Bergarda latched on to the loose ball and sprinted away to score on the right. Bunting added the difficult conversion and Burton were in the lead. Burton 7-0 Dudley Kingswinford. Burton then followed this up with their second try just two minutes later when great handling allowed them to mount a wonderful counterattack which resulted in Bergada scoring his second try on the right-hand side. Bunting added the extras again and Burton were in total control with Dudley struggling to make any headway against a strengthening breeze. Burton 14-0 Dudley Kingswinford.
Dudley then set about the challenging task of progressing into Burton territory, retaining possession through several phases until Burton were penalised for not releasing in the tackle. The wind tried its best to prevent the ball from passing between the posts, but Dudley had registered their first points of the game after 19 minutes. Burton 14-3 Dudley Kingswinford. Burton were clearly annoyed with themselves for giving away this score and they were soon pressing again deep in Dudley territory. In their attempt to ensure that possession was retained they found themselves overplaying a little as they got back into the visitors “22” and the normal Burton fluidity was missing for a brief period. This allowed Dudley to clear the danger and take play back to around the half-way line.
However, try as they might, Dudley were finding it extremely difficult to make any headway against both the breeze and a very solid and strong Burton defence. So much so that eventually they were penalised following a powerful Burton scrum and Burton were once again up to the 5-metre line and pressing hard for more points. The line-out was duly won and Burton went for the kill with an unstoppable forwards’ drive which resulted in Tommie Collingwood touching down for their third try. Bunting succeeded with a brilliant conversion from wide on the left and the lead grew once more. Burton 21-3 Dudley Kingswinford. Burton continued to manage the game well and a successful scrum against the head led to a further kickable penalty which was converted by Bunting with just over 5 minutes of the half remaining. Burton 24-3 Dudley Kingswinford.
Dudley were not about to surrender just yet, however, as they were looking forward to playing with the breeze in their favour during the second half. They were a little fortunate that the referee missed a couple of knock-ons before awarding them a penalty for a scrum infringement in front of the posts which was converted successfully with two minutes to go before half-time. Burton 24-6 Dudley Kingswinford. There was no further meaningful action before the break so at half time Burton held a 24-6 lead and the question on everyone’s lips was “is that enough of a lead?”
The second half started badly for Burton as the kick-off was adjudged – a little harshly I might add – to have not travelled 10 metres so a scrum was awarded to Dudley on the half-way line. Dudley worked their way up to the right of the Burton “22” where Burton were then penalised for offside. The kick for goal was missed so that was a bit of let-off for the home team so early on. Burton then gradually made their way just beyond the Dudley “22” as they sensibly played through the phases, but this came to nothing as they were then penalised for holding on and Dudley earned themselves a line-out just beyond the half-way line. A promising handling move ended with yet another knock-on.
About 10 minutes into the half, centre Will Hopwood, came on for Andy Brown and Will Derry switched to the wing. In addition, Ben Smith came on for Collingwood in the front row and Josh Kent replaced Callum Donnelly, with Joe Gazzard switching to second row from Number 8. Dudley managed to get control of the ball for several phases and made their way into the Burton “22” before they were penalised for holding on. The Burton kick to touch was held up in the breeze but Dudley once again knocked on when they started to make serious inroads into Burton territory. From the resulting scrum Burton were awarded a penalty which Bunting took quickly then linked with Will Derry who raced away to score Burton’s bonus point try wide on the left. Bunting just missed with the conversion attempt and Burton looked to have a commanding lead. Burton 29-6 Dudley Kingswinford.
Dudley to their credit did not roll over but they continued competing all over the pitch and they were rewarded with a converted try just to the left of the posts after 16 minutes. Burton 29-13 Dudley Kingswinford. However, from the re-start they kicked the ball straight into touch from outside their “22” and Burton had the throw at a line-out in their half. From here they managed to make their way up to inside the “22” however Dudley were able to clear to the half-way line without conceding again. The next meaningful action saw Dudley kicking long and a mix up in the Burton defence allowed Dudley to get the all-important touch down to record their second try of the game. A successful conversion closed the gap further and there were some anxious faces amongst the home supporters. Burton 29-20 Dudley Kingswinford.
Burton’s dominance in the set scrums came to a brief end as they were pushed back alarmingly but normality was resumed at the next two scrums in some style I might add! With the clock ticking down, too slowly for some home supporters liking, Will Hopwood won a penalty on the visitors “22” which really calmed the nerves. So too did another Dudley knock on moments later as Burton edged to a valuable bonus point win and just as important deprived Dudley of a losing bonus point of their own. Man of the match was Will Derry for a fine display at centre then on the wing. Top of the table, Newport, are the opponents next week and Burton will go into that challenge with bags of confidence hoping to cause a big upset.