It was an extremely blustery afternoon for the 14:15 kick off, so blustery in fact the touch flags were practically horizontal.
BoS were going to go with uncontested scrums but Winscombe provided a prop to enable contested scrums. Winscombe decided to play with the wind in the first half and kicked off.
From the kick off it was continual pressure with Burnham having less than a dozen touches on the ball. That pressure proved fruitful with Winscombe scoring the opening try on the 4th minute, the conversion could not be made. From the restart it was a scrappy encounter with both teams having possession but the weather was winning out with a greasy ball and wind being the ultimate factor.
On the stroke of 14 minutes Winscombe scores from repeated scrums this time the conversion was successful, 0-12. Again the restart was interesting with everyone scrambling to maintain and keep possession. For the next 20 minutes it was a real arm wrestle between both teams trying their best to play rugby but again the weather was not playing it’s part. On 36th minute Winscombe scores again with another successful conversion, 0-19 at halftime.
After the break Burnham really stepped up and showed they were a match for the league leaders and put together some great phases and ensured Winscombe kept being pressured and eventually after a seventh successive penalty the Referee awarded Burnham a penalty try, 7-19.
Again, Burnham took the game to Winscombe and played some good rugby in appalling conditions. Unfortunately, the pressure could not be converted into points. Winscombe scored on the 60th minute to take the score to 7-24. It was a shame as the second half had started so brightly for the blue hoops. That said, they did not let their heads drop and kept going but eventually the league leaders took control and scored on the 70th minute, conversion was made 7-31.
The restart resulted in Burnham pressure but to no avail and the match ended 7-31 to the visitors. The scoreboard did not reflect the true spirit of the boys in the blue and white hoops all of whom kept trying despite the conditions.
Special mention to Jamie Blyth who was the pack leader and led by example. Thanks to Winscombe who brought 20 players with them and lent Burnham a couple when the chips were down. Matthew Glanville did well given the conditions ensuring he found his man in the line out. Finally, Thanks to Sally Flack for sponsoring the game.
Not the result wanted to end 2018 but given the conditions and the opposition BoS IIs can now head into 2019 knowing they can match anyone on any given day. Player stability is key going into 2019, so again anyone who wants to give it a go get in touch.Happy Christmas and Happy New Year, roll on Taunton away as first game up in 2019!