Burntwood completed the double over Stafford with both wins coming away from home.
With The CCE Sportsway pitches waterlogged, Burntwood took up the option of reversing the fixture to play on their opponents’ artificial pitch having won there back in November.
Burntwood may have surrendered home advantage, but they did not do the same with the result as they were involved in yet another high-scoring contest which went the way of Josh Canning’s side by 47-29 to lift them to fifth in the table.
The opening ten minutes were played to and fro in midfield until Burntwood went ahead with their first real incursion into Stafford territory. Ed Smith fielded a kick near halfway and fed Hal Gozukucuk. His strong run and offload to Luke Rookyard resulted in the first of his side’s seven tries. Brett Taylor missed the conversion, but it was his only miss of the match.
The visitors were almost in again from the restart with Rookyard, Canning and Tom Shorrock inter-changing passes which ended with Josh Squire going close.
The second try came on 22 minutes. Line out possession was shipped well by the backs for Josh Massey to beat his opposite number and race to the corner from 40 metres. Taylor converted superbly from the touchline and repeated the feat moments later when more good passing found Billy Fisher who outstripped the cover defence from his own half for a fine score.
Stafford enjoyed a spell in the visitors’ 22 until half time and were rewarded with a penalty goal from in front and then right on half time, a loose kick out of defence was capitalised on by the home left winger who raced to the corner for an unconverted try to make it 19-8.
Burntwood reshuffled their line-up during the break with Taylor moving to scrum half, Kian Carter to full back and Max Liggins coming on to make his first team debut at centre.
Just three minutes in and Burntwood had the try bonus point. Stafford lost a scrum against the put in and then conceded a needless penalty which was tapped close to the line for Rookyard to score under the posts.
The hosts hit back from their own penalty award seven minutes later. A good inside pass 22 metres out resulted in a try under the posts and an easy conversion.
In a see-saw second half, Burntwood responded immediately and it was debutant Liggins who crossed by the posts after receiving possession from a line out.
Stafford made it 22-33 on the hour mark when a lock forward charged his way over the line for a converted try and when Taylor was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on it looked like the momentum would stay with the hosts. However, they lost a player to a yellow card just two minutes later to even up the numbers.
With ten minutes left, Rookyard, Carter and Shorrock all threatened the home line but a loose pass set the Stafford left winger away from his own half for a converted try and it was a four point game.
Taylor returned to the field and made an immediate impact. A Burntwood attack seemed to have stalled in the home 22 but he took possession and dummied his way over the line under the posts.
Stafford’s chances of closing the gap disappeared when they lost a lock forward to a yellow card and the coup de grace was applied when Shorrock was on hand to support a break by Alfie Dewsbury to score by the posts. Taylor’s conversion was the last action and a personal haul of 17 points.
Burntwood 2nds suffered another close defeat – this time away to Bloxwich with the hosts edging the contest 10-6.
Jack Robinson-Parr’s two penalties gave his side a six point lead but a try in each half took the home side to the win after a well-fought game which could have gone either way. Sean Brennan was the standout performer for Burntwood.
There are no league games for the senior sides this weekend, but the 3rds welcome Eccleshall 2nds as part of the Patrons’ Day which was postponed last time out.
