Match Report

Old Brentwoods went above Burnham in the league with an impressive last minute win on Saturday. It was Old Brentwoods who won the toss and elected to play into the stiff breeze that was going straight down the pitch, and it was they who got off to the better start.

The kick-off was well taken by Number 8 Billy Mullen on the 22 and he shook off 3 Burnham tackles before being brought down just short of the half-way line. The ball was quickly recycled and fly-half Reeves put centre Neil Tetner into space. He used it well and beat a couple of men himself before the ball went out to full-back Hughes, who then passed back inside to centre Dunseath. He had a lot of work left to do, but he made it look easy as he was just too quick for the covering defence. With less than a minute on the clock, it was 5-0.

The home side responded well and ground their way up the pitch. Old Brentwoods conceded a clumsy penalty for offside straight in front of the posts and the Burnham kicker was spot on to make it 5-3.

Old Brentwoods then secured the ball from the kick-off and forced play down into the opposition 22 again after some good lines of running from centres Dunseath and Tetner. They forced a lineout with their own throw-in from 10 yards out. Davies found Gooday to set up the rolling maul. Just as the opposition defence got sucked in, the ball was put out to fly-half Reeves. Andy Hall then came crashing in off his wing and broke 2 tackles before being held up a yard short of the line. Skipper Neil Hannaway rounded the move off and Hughes converted to make it 12-3.

Just as it looked like the visitors were going to turn the screw, Burnham ground their way up the pitch again and forced a penalty. From slightly further out, the kicker landed another good kick to make it 12-6 and keep the game in the balance.

There then followed a period of more settled play with both sides cancelling each other out. Both sides seemed to be winning their own set-piece but it was Old Brentwoods who were enjoying the slightly quicker, cleaner possession such was the work-rate of their pack and the dominance of the front row.

Burhnam then put together a good spell where they held onto possession and were really applying the pressure. They were camped in the opposition 22 for a good while before they kicked the ball away with a loose chip and chase. The ball went to scrum-half Hannaway who broke up the blind side. He slipped a couple of tacklers before popping the ball to Dunseath around the 10 yard line. Dunseath still had plenty to do but his lines of running and his sheer pace saw him evade half a dozen tacklers before scoring in the corner for a great individual try to take it to 19-6.

Burnham, still playing with the wind to their backs, refused to give in and again came back at the visitors. They were under increasing pressure in the scrum. When they managed to get the ball out, they were hunted down by Buchanan and Gooday. When they tried to keep it tight, they were thwarted by Stroud, Raymond and former Burnham player Bache in particular.

Despite all of this, it was Burnham who ended the scoring in the first half to bring it back to 19 – 14 with another well taken penalty.

The second half remained scoreless for long periods. It seemed that every time Old Brentwoods, (wearing a lucky gold strip lent to them by Burnham 2nd XV), worked their way into a good position, they conceded a penalty and Burnham were able to clear their lines. Burnham worked their way into a number of good scoring opportunities themselves but they were thwarted by some great last-ditch tackles from Buchanan & Womersley. They were held up several times just short of the line.

However after an extended stay in the opposition 22, they finally got the score they had been looking for. They broke from the back of a scrum, recycled the ball and spun it wide to score in the corner to bring it to 19 – 19 midway through the half.

Old Brentwoods carried on applying the pressure and by now their scrum was totally dominant. Mullen was held up just a yard short of the line, and it seemed like the game was going to peter out into a draw ….

Until with just minutes left, Old Brentwoods secured quick clean possession from their lineout half-backs Rigden and Reeves set the backs off. The ball was spun out to winger Mole. He gathered his own kick and chase and was brought down in the 22. The supporting pack, which had been in top form, again recycled quick ball and it was hooker Davies who crashed over in the corner for a well-deserved try.

The Old Brentwoods, who had lost to Burnham 39-10 earlier in the season, therefore had secured a really satisfying win in a game played out in good spirit. This should set them up for next week’s President’s Shield quarter final against in-form, Ilford. For details, please contact Neil on 0771 8583064.