Burntwood 6 Tamworth 0
Midlands 4 West North
 

For the second week running, just 6 points from the boot of Craig Seedhouse proved enough to secure a league win which keeps Burntwood in second place in the table.
Tamworth has rarely proved a happy hunting ground for the men from The Sportsway so a win, albeit a narrow one, makes a welcome change although they should have made their advantage in terms of territory and possession more telling.
After an evenly fought opening quarter of an hour the first scoring chance fell to Seedhouse but his penalty attempt from near the hosts’ 10 metre line was off target. At this point the Tamworth hooker Tom Franks was forced off with a back injury.
Competitive play by the visitors maintained good field position in their opponents’ half and Seedhouse broke the deadlock with a well struck penalty 10 minutes later.
Close to half time Tamworth had the visitors in trouble behind a scrum near their line. A hasty clearance kick gave the hosts a line out 5 metres out. A strong catch and drive almost carried them over the line but when it was stopped and the ball was moved wide a handling error saved Burntwood.
However, continued pressure led to prop Rob Cartwright being yellow carded for his side’s persistent infringements but during his absence Tamworth were not able to take advantage.
A long range penalty kick from Matthew Wood inside his own half fell short on 47 minutes but the chasers were up quickly to keep Tamworth pinned in their own half. Burntwood continued to probe round the fringes helped by astute positional kicking from Wood and scrum half Ian Jones but their only chance of points was another kick from distance, this time by Seedhouse but it suffered the same fate as Wood’s effort earlier.
Going into the final quarter Burntwood put pressure on themselves by fumbling a missed penalty kick by Tamworth. They had to mount a goal line stand as Tamworth scented victory but superb last ditch defending eventually forced the hosts to infringe and the danger was cleared.
Another penalty award near halfway allowed Wood to pin Tamworth right back in their own 22. His side won the line out and mauled their way 15 metres to the try line before being held up and eventually turned over.
Wood’s return kick kept play in Tamworth territory and with 5 minutes left came a key moment. The Burntwood pack stole possession at a scrum to release centre Matt Sishton on a run. He was high tackled and Seedhouse kept his nerve to split the uprights from 30 metres.
There was still one last scare for Burntwood in the final minute. Given the chance to clear the ball downfield they contrived to muck up a tapped penalty to give Tamworth a scrum. They moved the ball wide and their left winger looked to have escaped down the touchline until Wood put in a flying tackle to force the ball loose.
In a tight game, special mention goes to the front row of Cartwright, Ash Stanton, Mark Poole and replacement Martyn Smith who provided a solid platform against tough opponents.

More 1st XV Photos Here

Burntwood Development XV won their 6th game on the trot, defeating B’ham University Engineers 25-5 at The Sportsway.
The first half was played at a fast pace with both sets of backs seeing plenty of the ball. An early penalty by Eddie Saunders put Burntwood ahead but the Engineers were in front at the break following a chip to the corner which was touched down by a winger.
It was a different story after the interval. Simon Edwards’ men played a more physical game through the forwards led by Mark Partridge who blasted over for one of his side’s 4 second half tries.
Beau Hildick finished off a flowing handling move by the forwards for a try, winger Adam Smith gathered a Saunders chip for another before Andy Dodd notched the last from short range. Saunders added one conversion.

Burntwood 3rds put a strong line-up together for their short trip to play Rugeley 2nds and they didn’t disappoint, returning 22-3 winners for their first victory of the season.
Danny Hackett set them on the way with a try after just 5 minutes. He should have had a second shortly afterwards but having made the line with a strong run, he lost control of the wet ball in trying to run round behind the posts.
Danny Smith capped a fine display at No.8 with a well deserved try, Hackett duly scored his second and winger Jamie Horton rounded off things with a debut try for the club, touching down a chip through by skipper Ade Williams. Adam Ansell added one conversion.
Williams felt his side should have scored more given the powerful play of the likes of Lee Evans, Darren Brindley and Tom Restall. The side were also guilty of conceding too many penalties, one of which was goaled for Rugeley’s points.

To complete a perfect afternoon for the club, the Veterans were in awesome form, despatching Stafford Veterans 55-10 at The Sportsway.
They led 43-0 after a barnstorming first half. Antony Sutton took a switch pass from Mark Fisher for the opener. Pete Reynolds went over from a close range penalty for the 2nd before Fisher broke away for the 3rd. Reynolds helped set up the 4th with assistance from Mark Willson to put Ian Cooper over. All 4 tries were converted by Craig Addy.
Man of the match Paul Lloyd scored the 5th after his pack had turned the ball over at a scrum then Willson scored twice before the interval, the 2nd after good work by Lloyd.
To their credit, Stafford hit back with the first 2 tries of the second period but they were cancelled out firstly by Reynolds powering in for a try converted by Stuart Allen and then in the final minute skipper Paul Rogers forced his way over from a 5 metre scrum.

There was more success on Sunday morning with victories for the U16s, U15s and U14s all in league games.
The U16s returned from Willenhall with a rare win by 23-15. Two well-taken tries first by Luke Briggs and then an individual effort from Josh Holmes set them on their way plus a conversion by Mitch Carless.
However, they then went through a bad patch and allowed the hosts back into it with 3 unconverted tries. Carless had his kicking boots on and brought the scores level with one long range penalty and then ahead with another.
Carless then sealed the win by intercepting for a try as Willenhall tried to chase the game. The match ended prematurely after the air ambulance was summoned for a home player following a heavy tackle by Brad Carter. Fortunately, the player was not as badly injured as first thought.

Following on from their 24-0 defeat of Leek a week earlier, the U15s found the going tougher at home to Burton but they came through 17-7.
They spent the opening 20 minutes camped in their opponents’ half but scoring opportunities were few against a well-organised defence. Finally, a well worked backs move saw the back row up in support and Scott Minnis touched down for Luke Rookyard to convert.
They had the perfect start to the second period with a try by Tom Hall. Burton hit back strongly and it was game-on when they scored a try under the posts.
However, Burntwood regrouped and went on the attack. Ollie Aleksejuk forced his way over for the clinching try. Stand out performers for the home side were Thomas Hall and Sam Power.

Burntwood U14s also defeated Burton after a close game, edging home 12-5.
The local lads stood up to the stiff challenge well with R. Mason, R. Jones and D. Poole leading from the front.
The opening quarter was evenly fought but the deadlock was broken by S. Jones who scored a try wide out following good handling by T. Coleman, A. Dunet and J. McGinn.
A reshuffle in their line-up allowed R Percox to be reintroduced to the back row. A Coleman break carried him all the way to the posts for the second try which was converted by Poole.
Loose line out ball was seized on by the Burton pack who drove over for their side’s only score.

This Saturday Burntwood have a break from league action and travel to play Malvern 2nds in a friendly fixture. The Development side are at Walsall 3rds, the 3rds have a Merit Table match at home to Wednesbury 2nds and the colts host Willenhall (league).
On Sunday morning the U16s (H), U15s (A), U14s (H) and U13a (A) all face Barkers Butts.


U13's v Walsall

League match played at home at The Sportsway.

What a difference a week (& one training session) makes !!!

After their drumming at the hands of Stafford last weekend the U13's had promised to stand their ground this week, and they certainly did just that!

In another league match against an established side the 13's were in a much more determined mood this weekend. The first half saw the 13's under continued pressure from Walsall who showed good ball retention by their forwards and good movement once the ball was released to the backs. On more than one occasion it was skipper Rory Newhall who saved the day with some excellent try saving tackles. After 25 minutes and 2 tries (one converted), at the halftime whistle it was 0 - 12 to Walsall.

A few choice words at halftime by the coaching staff were all that was needed for the Burntwood side to rectify the score line in the second period. An excellent breakaway try by winger Liam Smith was converted by Rory Newhall to put the 13's on the scoreboard and after further sustained pressure Rory Newhall broke away to score far out to the left to level the score. Unfortunately the conversion attempt drifted wide.

In the final quarter of the match Walsall applied continued pressure on the Burntwood line, but showing great defensive resilience and self belief (much improved from last week) Burntwood hung on for a well deserved draw.