Burntwood 33 Handsworth 10
Midlands 4 West North

Although Burntwood ran in 5 tries to complete their 7th league win on the trot, both players and coaching staff were not entirely happy with the performance. They were 21 points up by the half hour mark but for the rest of the game they lacked the precision needed to fully capitalise on a solid forward platform.
Much of the opening quarter was played on the Handsworth side of the halfway line but Burntwood couldn’t make their advantage tell until the 17th minute. By then they could have had tries by Chris Smith and skipper Graham Shelley but for faulty passing. Paul Donnelly had also been short and then wide with two long range penalty attempts.
However, it came right for them when scrum half Ollie Whitehouse worked the narrow side of a scrum to put winger Sam Wanty away for the opener. Donnelly converted.
Eleven minutes later Donnelly rescued loose possession to slip a pass back inside to Lloyd Shelley who found a way clean through the traffic to the posts for a try easily converted by Donnelly.
Having struggled to put points on the board to begin with, the home side were now in full flow with another try direct from the restart. Prop forwards Dan Bratton and Mark Poole were the architects with 2 good offloads to send Whitehouse racing in from the Handsworth 10 metre line. Donnelly added the extras.
The visitors made their first foray into the Burntwood 22 close to half time and it needed a good cover tackle by No. 8 Craig Goodall to snuff out the danger. However, some of his team mates didn’t follow his example. They stood off tackles to present Handsworth with a penalty which was kicked to make the half time score 21-3.
Ten minutes into the second period Burntwood scored a 4th try. Donnelly’s miss move found Matt Bray and he put winger Chris Smith away for a touchdown near the corner.
With an hour gone and both sides losing a player to the sin bin, Handsworth handled well from an uncontested scrum. Bray stopped the initial danger but the visitors worked the ball to their left winger who scored wide out - only the 2nd try conceded by the home side in the last 5 league games. An excellent conversion made it 26-10.
Burntwood brought on Jimmy Davies, Dave Peplow and Martyn Smith for the last quarter but another chance went begging when Bray missed Wanty with the final pass.
It was the forwards who had the last say with a try 2 minutes from time. Skipper Shelley, who made several strong runs during the afternoon, again made inroads before prop forward Poole followed up to power over. Donnelly kicked the conversion to wrap up the league points.
 

More 1st XV Photo's Here

There was Merit Table success for the 2nd and 3rd strings against Handsworth aswell. The 3rds were in unstoppable form, running in 11 tries for a 63-7 win at The Sportsway.
They fielded a strong side who showed excellent commitment, particularly in the first half. Their brand of running rugby exposed frailties in the Handsworth defence. They were 2 tries up in the opening 3 minutes and never looked back.
Ritchie England, Paul Lloyd, Mark Fisher and Simon Barker all scored 2 tries each and there was one apiece for Tim Anslow, Rob England and Chris Preston. Craig Addy and Martin Ottey split 4 conversions between them.
They made several changes for the 2nd half and lost some of their potency in attack. They also conceded a breakaway try to provide some consolation for the visitors.
 

3rd XV Photos Here

Burntwood Colts went down in their league game away to Willenhall despite taking the lead. The hosts came back to win 19-10.
The first half hour was evenly contested until the deadlock was broken by a try from winger Alex Roberts, converted by Matt Wood. Willenhall levelled the scores right on half time.
The home side changed tactics in the second half, keeping the ball in the forwards to deny the Burntwood backs any real possession. Consequently, they never threatened the home try line and could only add a Wood penalty whilst Willenhall scored 2 tries and a conversion.
Keiron Blacker, in his first game for 2 years, looked like he had never been away as he produced a very good performance in the second row. The front row of Slater, Miles and Green also battled well up front for their side.

Burntwood U15s took part in their most physical game of the season away to Uttoxeter. A tough but exciting league contest went the way of the local lads by 28-15.
Both sets of forwards revelled in the wet and muddy conditions. It was Uttoxeter who drew first blood with a try but indiscipline let them down and 2 pick and drives were finished off by Jake Read with Luke Rookyard converting on both occasions.
Uttoxeter were in again before the break to make the half time score 14-10.
In the second half Burntwood moved the ball to the wings more. Joshua Read recorded his first try for the club, again converted by Rookyard.
The final try was a classic. From their own 22, every Burntwood player was involved in a move which culminated in a hat trick try for tight head prop Read. Rookyard converted to complete an excellent team performance.

Burntwood U14s also returned from their league travels with a win and went one better than the colts by beating Willenhall 10-0.
Both sides went into the game with 100% winning records but it was coach Steve Thompson’s side which prevailed. Tries from new recruit Charlie Adamson and lock forward Ryan Mason put paid to Willenhall’s run. They also had 3 tries disallowed.
Special mention goes to the pack of forwards who battled away from start to finish.

This Saturday Burntwood face Newcastle-u-Lyme with the 1sts (league) and Veterans away and the 2nds (Merit) at home. The colts have a league game with Stafford.
On Sunday morning the U17s are at Leek and the U14s are in league action away to Longton.
After the matches on Saturday Burntwood hold their Annual Dinner at St. Matthew’s Sports and Social Club. Members and guests will be entertained by ex-international and RFU Coaching Academy Director Nigel Redman, who will also present the club awards and prizes for last season, and then comedian Mick Martin.