Saturday 9th March 2019 will be a day to remember for many at Burnham On Sea RFC. It was the clubs annual Sponsors Day & Old Boys Reunion as well as The Stand Naming Presentation to our Club President, Mike O’Farrell, and let’s not forget the 80 minutes of entertaining rugby played against Imperial RFC.

The Stags went into this match looking to overcome the defeat by Imperial earlier in the season especially in front of the large home crowd. Both teams started the game strong and exchanged the ball a few times before Imp’s were penalised at the breakdown just outside there 22m line. Captain for the day, Tim Piper, stepped up and slotted the ball between the posts to take the lead after 10 minutes. 3-0.

Imp’s lost a player early on in the game with a knee injury and from the resulting re-start, The Stags had possession of ball, pushing Imp’s backwards with some thundering runs from the deep and the ever reliable Ryan Beard had ball in hand. Being the elusive player he is, he managed to force his way through several tackles from 10meters out and score the first try of the game. Piper converted 10-0.

As they do with these particular fixtures, and few words were exchanged between players, and supporters I must add, the first yellow cards were handed out by the Referee. That score started at 1-0 to Imps and it wasn’t too long before Imps extended there the lead 2-1.
The Stags took advantage of being a player up and were awarded another penalty which Piper converted. 13-0. A few minutes later Piper then managed to score by outpacing the Imp’s winger, who was a lot younger I must add, to score The Stags second try and also convert to extend the lead 18-0
The game stopped after 20 minutes due to another Imp’s injury and it was it this point that the tide changed for The Stags. Once the injured player was taken off the field Imp’s went on the attack and somehow scored 12 unanswered point just before half time with two tries and one being converted. HT 18-12.

The minor blip before half time seemed to affect The Stags in a good way as they began to play some attractive rugby and keep Imps at bay. A penalty was given to the home team and Piper opted to kick too touch. The Lineout was won, maul formed and the forwards tied in Imps, the ball looked to go out wide but Sam Lewis dummied, spotted a gap and skipped over a falling green & gold body to dot the ball down over the line. 23-12.

It was clear to see that Imp’s were frustrated and began to leave gaps in there defensive line. Some quality phases were produced by The Stags and Stef Pierce hit the line at speed, with Tom Wall in support, and Pierce managed to force his way over to score the forth try and secure the bonus point. 28-12.
By this point Imp’s heads had dropped and ill-discipline allowed The Stags possession and gain territory. A penalty was given but power house, Will Hopkins had other ideas and set off at pace and sprinted his way over the line to score. 33-12.
Final Score 33-12

A splendid day all round for the cub. There is no game next week and our next league game is away to Weston 2nd XV on the evening of Friday 22nd March.

Tags: