Burnham 2XV 31 Bridgwater 0
“Burnham Blues Blow Bridgwater away”
Skipper Matt Slater had a good squad at his disposal with the return of some of the regular heads this mix with some of our now frequent playing colts Massie; Elliot Donnelly; gave pace and maturity to the side. It is a well-known fact that Bridgwater as well as playing the game also engage in Psychological warfare in an effort to put the opposition off their game plan.
The match brief was focused and to the point; get the game moving at pace was the order; and as the game got underway this is exactly what happened; in the early stages Burnham dominated with backs and pack acting in cohesion it was not long before the attrition was beginning to tell. Bridgewater really had no answer to the persistent pressure. This eventually paid dividends when from a consolidated forwards move Lloyd Stewart playing at number eight drove over from the back of a solid front five for the first score, try converted by Will Conway, great start.
This trait of play was maintained as the game restarted with the entire team firing on all cylinders; Bridgewater were having great difficulty in containing this enthusiastic rush of rugby that was being pilled upon them. Backs and forwards were linking well Ryan Reynolds playing at Scrum half was commanding and directing forwards and backs very well and it was all showing, from a break out Joe Osgood locked onto a loose pass and found the line; try converted again by Will Conway, the backs were not to be left out and as before with Rob Lewis and Chris Leigh hammering at the Bridgie back line it was unavoidable that it was going to crack when it did it was Chris Leigh who was on the end of it; Try unconverted. Half time Burnham up 19 Points.
Half time saw some re-org; Tiny Rees had left the field previously after a sterling contribution other players were in waiting; the instructions was for more of the same. Alas as the game recommenced Burnham went in to hibernation; mistake followed mistake; the cohesive combined team spirit demonstrated in the first half was waning; Bridgewater sensed this and mounted attack after attack, Skipper Matt Slater was akin to a captain of a holed ship trying to stop the intake of water, he worked immensely to rally the squad as Bridgewater threw everything at them within their large weight advantage forwards; as Bridgewater was camped and held up on Burnham’s line for what seemed like an eternity. The effort paid off as the visitors broke out with a territorial clearance kick from Ryan Reynolds with a follow on by Matt Mitchell who had played some very solid rugby in this game; this took Burnham back into striking distance in the Bridgewater Half. The infringement and ensuing scrum again saw Ryan break into Bridgwater safe space with a sound follow up by Matt Glanville and Phil Collings saw more space being surrendered by the home side, Bridgwater by this stage had begun to blame everything except themselves for this demise. The pressure was certainly on; Burnham had awakened; driven on by the skipper; assault after assault was mounted as Burnham camped on the home line, near misses were recorded by Chris Leigh; Lloyd Stewart; Matt Slater; Will Conway who had moved to scrum half was belt feeding the backs, it was when the ball went wide in a move by Elliot Donnelly Will Grant and Rob Lewis saw the latter find the line. A great effort to round off this conclusive revival by Burnham, the try went unconverted.
With Burnham sensing a routes and Bridgewater knowing it the game became tardy with discipline being pushed to the limit, further changes were made with Ash Morris and Sean coming on in the front row. Burnham maintained the pressure despite the antagonisation and from the sustained pressure Henry Bigwood crossed the line; Will Conway provided the dessert with a conversation.
This was a well-deserved result it had again demonstrated the depth of character that we have, the side overcame the recession at the start of the second half which if we had not would have been catastrophic to the end result. Accolades this week are shared; a forward Lloyd Stewart, and a back Matt Mitchell.
A good result from a fine team effort; well done
Next week is at Home to the Wyvern!! The skipper needs a big turnout for this match.
Training is at the usual date time; if available attendance is essential.