Another Scalp For Burntwood

Underdogs Burntwood took their second scalp of the Staffordshire Owen Cup an will have to pull it over higher ranked opposition if they are to take the trophy.

     Their unset of Cannock at the weekend was their second successive win over a team from the division above them in the Courage Leagues.

      And standing between them and the cup are GEC St. Leonards of Stafford  who are two divisions higher in the Staffs/Warwick League Division 1.

     But GEC aren't having the greatest of seasons, standing ninth out of thirteen in their table with one draw and five defeats to date.

    Burntwood, who also had a good run in the Pilkington Shield this season, have proved they can rise to the occasion.

     No date or venue for the final has yet been announced.

    Cannock captain Mark Poole was gracious and sporting in defeat. Although the margin at the end was only one point, he said: "The better side won on the day and good luck to them."

     "Our pack did not dominate as we had hoped and hooker Dave Miles, while very promising in recent performances, had a tough time with his opponent, Andy Dodd, winning ball against the head."

      Whilst critical of some 'inconsistent refereeing', Poole refused to use the 'mystery of the drop goal that wasn't' as an excuse. Players on both sides were puzzled by the decision, apparently an off side ruling by the official.

   Despite the rivalry between the two sides, the game, while full of aggression, was never nasty. There was one moment early on when tempers became frayed but after that the physical input was no more than usual.

     Burntwood spokesman Rob Forsyth said: "It was a really good performance from our point of view, particularly in the scrum. we knew that they had a bigger pack, and their No8 Sean Flynn has a reputation for scoring push over tries, so we felt if we scrummaged okay, we could survive. If we had struggled in that part of our game they would have wiped us out."

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