Shrewsbury 6 Burntwood 13
Midlands 4 West North

Another superb defensive performance carried Burntwood to their first ever win at Shrewsbury. In the process they drew level on points with their Shropshire hosts in the battle for runners-up spot in the division behind unbeaten leaders Willenhall.
Graham Shelley’s men currently have the meanest defence in the league as yet again they kept their line intact despite being under almost constant pressure in the second half.
The first scoring opportunity of the game had gone to Shrewsbury but a penalty attempt after 3 minutes was poorly struck.
Four minutes later a good kick and chase by winger Sam Wanty had the hosts back on their 22. The Burntwood forwards recovered possession to feed Matt Wood and he slipped a tackle to race clean through to the posts for a try which he also converted.
Shrewsbury hit back with a penalty given for not releasing in the tackle after 16 minutes.
The 5 minute periods either side of the half hour mark became increasingly fractious with the ball frequently turned over in some fierce exchanges. However, it was the visitors who benefited. Wood landed 2 penalty goals during this period and was instrumental in stopping one threatening attack which could have reduced the lead.
They also had the advantage of an extra man for 10 minutes from the 33rd minute when Shrewsbury lost their No. 7 to the sin bin for a flurry of punches on Lloyd Shelley. Shelley was subsequently replaced by Josh Bayliss at half time with an eye injury.
The hosts had an early scoring chance in the second half but a penalty kick sailed wide. From the restart, Matt Bray and Matt Sishton made good ground up to halfway but it was a rare excursion as a string of penalties went against the visitors to keep them pinned in their own 22.
One scoring chance was knocked on and then Bray came to Burntwood’s rescue with a thumping tackle as the game reached the hour mark.
The home No. 10 almost caught the visitors’ defence off guard with a chip through but he was unable to follow it up to score. Sishton was hurt in a collision off the ball and was replaced by Jimmy Davies.
Wood’s 22 drop out was charged down to keep the pressure on and in their attempt to regather the loose ball they conceded a penalty which was converted top make it 13-6 with over 10 minutes to go.
At this point Burntwood finally moved into Shrewsbury territory for their only attack of the half but they were soon back defending having turned the ball over.
They stuck manfully to their task and greeted the final whistle with a huge sigh of relief.
 

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The Burntwood Development XV pushed Whittington 1sts all the way but just fell short by 15 points to 14 after an evenly-fought contest.
It was literally men against boys in the forwards with the experienced visitors instrumental in building up a 15-7 half time lead courtesy of 2 tries, a conversion and a penalty.
Burntwood’s first half try scorer was Dave Humphries who cut a cracking line to beat more than one opponent to touch down. Eddie Saunders converted.
The penalty count had mounted against Burntwood up to the break but they gelled better after the turnaround. Ross Beaman came on as replacement and scored a super try from his own half. Saunders converted.
Simon Edwards’s side were dominant for the last 15 minutes but couldn’t turn the pressure into points.
Apart from Beaman, Steve Blockley also made a welcome return to action and there was also an appearance by Paul Ensor at prop.

Burntwood 3rds struggled for set piece possession at home to Linley 2nds but ironically it was 2 prop forwards who scored a try apiece to earn a share of the spoils at 10-10.
After a hard-fought opening 10 minutes Tim Anslow broke the deadlock with a try for the home side. Unfortunately, Adam Ansell missed the conversion having already been off target with a 2nd minute penalty attempt.
With their pack in retreat at the scrums and no line-out possession to speak of, Burntwood were largely on the defensive. They did well to restrict Linley to 2 tries before the break.
They reshuffled their line-up for the second period to better effect. Skipper Ade Williams broke through a gap but was pulled down close to the line. Danny Lake was up to recover the ball and he fed Darren Brindley who touched down.
Play was brought to a premature halt in failing light, Linley having arrived late for the kick off and the hosts were left to rue scoring opportunities which were spurned on the day.

Burntwood Veterans welcomed Warley 1sts for a Pool fixture and dominated proceedings throughout to win 21-5.
They played against the wind in the 1st half and adopted a 10 man style of rugby which proved effective. They led 6-5 through 2 penalties by Craig Addy - Warley’s try coming from an opportunist chip and chase.
In the second half they piled the pressure on and went further ahead after 60 minutes. Skipper Paul Rogers arced his way round from the back of a scrum and when he was brought down Pete Reynolds was there to collect and score. Addy converted.
Matt Cummins scored a try wide out after good play by the forwards. A late Addy penalty completed the tally although it could have been more as Warley rarely had a look in.

Burntwood U15s were also victorious over Warley opposition when they welcomed a combined U15/16s on Sunday morning. They ran out winners 20-7 with most of the damage coming in the first half.
It was their first run out for 5 weeks but they continued their good form of last year.
The opposition forwards rucked and mauled well but the Burntwood breakaway unit were quicker to the loose ball which allowed the backs to punch holes. There were 2 tries each for Ollie Aleksejuk and Sam Power and both shared the man of the match award.
Warley came back into it in the second half with the wind and slope in their favour. They were camped in the home half for 10 minutes before their forwards finally broke through to score under the posts but it was the only blemish in a good performance by the U15s to begin 2009.

Burntwood face more opponents from Salop this Saturday when they welcome Bishop’s Castle to The Sportsway - k.o.2.15pm. The Development XV host Stafford 3rds whilst the 3rds are at HMP Featherstone for a Merit game. The colts have a league game at home to neighbours Lichfield.
On Sunday morning the U17s are home to Wolverhampton and the U15s welcome Linley.