Burntwood 6 Willenhall 33

Sep 23 2008

This was the proverbial game of two halves. Burntwood were the better of the sides in the first period and led 3-0 but they were hit for five tries in the second half as a rampant Willenhall stepped on the gas.

Graham Shelley's men were looking to run Willenhall much closer than their last meeting back in May when they were whitewashed in the Staffs Intermediate Cup Final. Their prospects of an opening day win looked promising after a hard-fought 40 minutes but the second half brought back some bad memories.

From the start Burntwood were clearly up for the contest and regained their own kick off to take play into the opposition 22. Willenhall's first attack was nearly 10 minutes in coming and it needed sharp work by full back Matt Bray to clear the danger.

Craig Seedhouse was off target with penalty attempts in the 12th and 14th minutes as Burntwood kept play mainly in their opponents' half. They even remained on top despite losing skipper Shelley to the sin bin as the contest in the forwards became over-heated.

The nearest the home side came to a try was just after Shelley's return in the 37th minute. Seedhouse's chip through was kicked on by Matt Sishton. Ollie Whitehouse was up quickly in pursuit to force a 5 metre scrum. The try was prevented but Burntwood's pressure was eventually rewarded with a Seedhouse penalty on the stroke of half time.

The home side's fortunes changed soon after the restart. Just 2 minutes into the second period Willenhall broke blind from a scrum. Bray's solid tackle stopped the initial threat but the visiting forwards mauled their way over by the posts for a converted try.

Full of confidence, the visitors went up through the gears with their back division moving the ball skilfully and at pace. An attack from deep after 51 minutes took play up to the home line, Burntwood not helping their cause by slipping off tackles, and they were over near the left corner.

Paul Donnelly and Rob Cartwright were introduced to the action as Burntwood seemed to be running out of steam but it needed another Bray tackle to keep their lively opponents out.

It was only a short reprieve as the Willenhall forwards caught and drove a 5 metre line out to score a converted try.

Burntwood managed a good attack of their own with 15 minutes left. Alex Riffel, on debut, and Whitehouse went close to the line. When Willenhall were penalised Seedhouse split the uprights to make it 6-19.

Any hopes of a comeback were snuffed out going into the last 10 minutes. Another swift backs move took play up to the home line and despite being tackled, the ball was popped up for another converted try.

The final try was the best. With 3 minutes remaining, the Willenhall backs moved the ball down the line from halfway to put the left winger round behind the posts for a 7 pointer.

The final result was a big disappointment for the Burntwood camp especially after their first half performance. However, Willenhall's second half performance showed why they are one of the favourites for the league title this season.

There was some consolation for Burntwood when the Development side returned from Willenhall victors by 19-8 after a fantastic team performance.

The home side had taken an early lead with a breakaway try following some weak tackling but thereafter it was all Burntwood. Had they chosen the right options more often the winning margin would have been much greater.

Matthew Wood had a fine afternoon at outside half. He scored a superb individual try from long range to begin with and posed all sorts of problems for the home defence - and even his own support players at times.

Sam Wanty scored the second try, a good piece of finishing by the winger, and he was also unlucky to have another effort ruled out.

Skipper Simon Edwards went over for the 3rd try from close range. Two conversions by Wood wrapped up a very pleasing win. Special mention goes to the combination of back row players used -Beau Hildick, Craig Goodall, Chris Preston, Danny Hackett and Dave Peplow who were instrumental in stopping Willenhall's game.

Burntwood 3rds were left kicking their heels when Willenhall cancelled their Merit Table game late on. The Veterans match had been called off earlier in the week.

Burntwood U15s enjoyed their first outing of the season, returning from their Friday night fixture against Burton B with a 31-5 win.

Early forward pressure saw Tom Hall and Scott Minnis crash over from driving mauls. Luke Rookyard converted both. Burton hit back with a try but Burntwood regrouped to take the game away from their hosts in front of a large crowd.

Individual efforts by Sam Power and Ashley Cockerill extended the lead, Power converting his own score. A late try by Dom Angelakis ended a fine evening of rugby. Man of the match was shared by Power and Craig Heath.

Burntwood attempt to get their show back on the road with the visit of Cleobury Mortimer to The Sportsway for their 2nd league game this Saturday - kick off 3.00 pm.