Burntwood 0 Willenhall 28
Staffs Intermediate Cup Final
In the last 13 seasons Burntwood have appeared in 6 county cup finals
and won the lot but Willenhall proved too strong at Walsall RFC last
Sunday and they deservedly retained the Lewis Taylor Trophy.
Burntwood suffered a major blow on the morning of the match when skipper
and key line out jumper Graham Shelley was laid low by illness and
forced to miss the game. Their hastily re-arranged line out routine
misfired allowing Willenhall’s Mark Gilbert to rule the roost.
As
the sides battled for supremacy in wet conditions early on, the first
scoring chance went to Willenhall but Ben Potts’ penalty attempt was
wide from 35 metres after 8 minutes. However, he skimmed one over the
bar 9 minutes later to set his side on the way.
Craig Seedhouse had the chance for an immediate reply but his kick was
wide right.
It then needed solid defence around the half hour mark by Steve Blockley
and full back Matt Bray to prevent the holders recording the first try.
After 35 minutes Seedhouse’s fine touch kick put his side in the
Willenhall 22. Beau Hildick won a rare line out and two set moves later
they won a penalty in midfield but Seedhouse slid his kick to the right
again.
Willenhall’s dominance in the line outs led to the first try of the
final after 38 minutes. First they stole Burntwood ball to clear their
lines. Then they went for a catch and drive following a penalty award
and stormed over in the right corner. The conversion made it 10-0.
Burntwood went closest to scoring a try just before the half time
whistle. Bray came into the back line on the opposition 22 to set winger
Chris Smith away on an arcing run but he couldn’t escape the last
defender who brought him down with a superb tackle.
Six minutes into the second period Willenhall extended their lead to 13
points with a Potts penalty and he added another after 55 minutes for an
offence which cost Matt Watkins 10 minutes in the sin bin.
During his absence, Willenhall effectively won the game with their 2nd
try. They stole a scrummage ball for their back row to break and feed
the backs who ran the try in.
Going into the last 10 minutes another catch and drive saw the
Willenhall forwards over in the
right corner. A fine touchline conversion completed the scoring.
The holders continued to press despite losing a player to a yellow card
but to their credit Burntwood defended resolutely on their line to keep
the margin under 30 points.
It was a disappointing climax to a season of rebuilding and progress for
Burntwood but the camp were still in good spirits as they returned to
their Sportsway clubhouse to celebrate the end of a long season.
