Morley 3rd XV 17 - 5 Burley 2nd XV
T: Millar.
5th September 2009
A blustery autumn day heralded the start of a fresh new season for Burley's mighty second string when they took on Morley. Despite failing to win the game Burley can be proud of their performances, both as a team and individually; certain 1st team players should be nervous for their places already! The game (and especially the first half) was dominated/blighted (delete according to how much you enjoy tight forward battles) by almost constant scrummaging which led some of the backs on both sides to question whether or not they were actually still participants or had actually become spectators in some game of 8-a-side wrestling. The reasons for this were twofold: primarily because of the wind, which caused plenty of stray passes and handling errors, but also due to the unstable nature of the scrum itself, which came down frequently. Top marks go to prop Henry Holman for comprehensively winning his own personal battle against the Morley tighthead, who at one point resorted to dropping on his knees far more often than should really have been allowed. Other props Kelvin Crooks and Dan Dearden also had solid games in this respect, contributing to a significantly stronger scrum than last season. The early stages were blighted by an injury to Jim Huxford, deployed for the first time at hooker. He was replaced by debutante Andy Horton who showed himself to be a skilful and intelligent player, getting around the park and proving especially useful in defence.
Morley had the first opportunity from a counter attack after Burley drove deep into their half, only to be turned over five metres out. The ball was cleared to fullback Chris Pickles who unfortunately sliced his return kick horribly into midfield and straight into the arms of a Morley player. The Morley left wing was released down the touchline and looked certain to score, only to be denied by an outstanding cover tackle from Richie Cuthbert. The home team crossed the line shortly afterwards however with a well planned move from the base of one of the 473 scrums which took place in the first half. Burley regrouped and fought back, Cuthbert as usual in the thick of everything alongside John Bracken, who after around 20 minutes of heroic rucking and tackling was left bleeding profusely from the face, leading several spectators and the referee to pipe up with a no-doubt often rehearsed “is that real blood then?” line. Bracken returned from the blood bin later and played his usual high quality part in the match. Burley were now really getting into the swing of what was becoming an entertaining and physical encounter, with Crooks, Joel Winship and James Rigg all going close to scoring, but the final touch just eluded the visitors, who fell further behind when Rigg was caught in possession with nobody behind him, the home side having an easy walk in after the unfortunate Rigg was made to release the ball. Try as they might Burley simply could not breach the Morley line, and a third Morley try was hard on the visitors, especially due to the almost comically large double movement involved in scoring it. At 17-0 down however Burley knew they had played well and that there was plenty of life left in the game.
The second half saw a welcome return to Burley for Jack Hill at fullback, who was later to produce a moment of rather outrageous skill (more on that in a bit). Grant Peter was also introduced, adding his bulk and strength to an increasingly confident Burley pack. It is to the Maroons' credit that they kept Morley scoreless in this half and actually scored two tries themselves (one was disallowed at the time but was later admitted as a fair try by the referee). As per the first half Morley spent most of their time at the Burley end, but were foiled by some superb tackling and well marshalled defence which suggests the 2nd XV will certainly have more steel than last term. Man of the Match Andy Fynn was introduced in this half and made an immediate impact, the big burly second row doing much to impress his teammates with some serious presence around the ruck area and in defence. Before long Burley got their reward for a tireless afternoon when the ball was stolen from Morley in the middle of the park and moved to Cuthbert, who ran at the defence before unleashing Lee Millar down the right side. The teenage winger put his foot down and raced 40 yards to the corner for a scintillating try which galvanised Burley, giving them real hope of overhauling the 12 point deficit. With the ball now in the backs more the visitors started to put pressure on leading to mistakes from the home side, and a sliced kick found Kenny Parsons who brought fullback Jack Hill into play. Hill pulled off a brilliant chip kick, which he retrieved himself before going on a mazy run before being hauled down deep inside Morley's 22. This half was proving a much more even contest and Morley became frustrated on occasion, one player being very lucky to escape the referee's wrath after vocally protesting about being pushed into touch and, memorably, two Morley players actually arguing with each other over a pass that should have come, but did not. Burley then scored a stunning second try which was unfortunately ruled out over a misunderstanding. There seemed little immediate danger as Cuthbert again stole the ball in midfield, but the ball was moved with lightning speed and suddenly Rigg was charging down the touchline before breaking the fullback's tackle for a fantastic inaugural try, only for it to be chalked off as the linesman ruled Rigg had stepped into touch. It was later explained by the referee that the foot on the line had in fact been that of a Morley player, but due to the similarity in colours (Morley had helpfully changed into some spare blue shirts for the game, but both teams' shorts and socks were essentially identical) the linesman had raised his flag.
Very unfortunate for Rigg, whose run down the wing was memorable, but a good end to what was, overall, a cracking game of rugby where not a single Burley player let himself down. Man of The Match was, as previously mentioned Andy Fynn for an explosive showing at second row, although Henry Holman, Richie Cuthbert and John Bracken must also be commended for strong performances in what at times was a titanic forward struggle. Wily new recruit Andy Holton was also impressive and, if he decides to stick with the club could become a serious rival to Tom Barnes for the 1st XV hooker slot. Overall this was a showing Burley could take much heart from. Next week sees the Maroons at home against Ossett II.
Burley 2nd XV vs Morley 3rd XV:
1-H.Holman 2-J.Huxford 3-D.Dearden 4-G.Peter 5-M.Ward 6-J.Bracken 7-R.Cuthbert 8-D.Morrell 9-K.Hayward (capt.) 10-M.Zielinski 11-J.Rigg 12-J.Winship 13-L.Millar 14-K.Parsons 15-C.Pickles. SUBS: J.Hill, A.Fynn, A.Holton, J.Abogaye, S.Nichols.