Burntwood RUFC went level on points in the league table with Bloxwich after completing the double over their Black Country neighbours following a tight contest at The Sportsway.
Tries two minutes either side of half time by flankers Lloyd Shelley and Hal Gozukucuk seemed to set the hosts up for a comfortable win but they had to do a lot of defending in the time remaining to keep the visitors out.
The try scorers combined as early as the fourth minute to threaten the Bloxwich line. From a tapped penalty on five metres, Shelley darted for the line before passing back inside. Gozukucuk believed he had crossed the line but the referee thought otherwise and awarded a scrum.
It was then the visitors’ turn to pick and drive their way to the home line but they infringed and the danger was cleared.
Good tackling by Burntwood turned defence into attack and their efforts earned a penalty after 13 minutes but Aza Dune’t was a fraction left of the target with his kick.
Back came Bloxwich and they had better luck with a kick at goal seven minutes later to take a three point lead.
Just two minutes later skipper Ian Jones chased his own kick to good effect. He charged down an attempted clearance to put the visitors in trouble and they conceded a penalty which Dune’t again put left of the posts.
The normally reliable Dune’t was clearly having an off day with the boot when he missed a sitter after half an hour but he made sure of the conversion for the first try which came in the 38th minute.
A solid tackle created turnover possession and a clearance kick, which the impressive Jack Neal pursued to the visitors’ 22. A scrum followed and then a penalty award which was kicked to the corner. A catch and drive had the Bloxwich defence sucked in before the ball was fed to Mark Poole on the burst. When tackled, he offloaded to Shelley who went in under the posts.
There was still time for Bloxwich to reduce the deficit to a single point with their second penalty, this time given for a scrum offence.
The second period began in spectacular fashion with a try from a move which began on halfway. Poole, Craig Prosser, Shelley and Matt Sishton all linked up through centre field before Shelley put Gozukucuk over under the posts for a try which Dune’t converted.
From the restart Burntood were almost in again. County U20s player Neal collected the kick off and broke into the visitors’ half. The home drive reached the five metre line before the danger was cleared.
The home defence then came under pressure as the big Bloxwich forwards exerted themselves. However, the defensive line held with Elliot Tomlinson in particular putting in some solid tackling.
It was not until the 70th minute that Sishton broke the siege with a burst upfield supported by Tomlinson, Poole and Gozukucuk but the respite was only temporary as Bloxwich re-gathered possession.
The home line held, even when Shelley was yellow carded in the closing minutes, to give Burntwood the win and eleven league points from their last three games.
They will hope to keep this productive run of results going when they welcome basement side Cleobury Mortimer to The Sportsway this Saturday (February 23) for a re-arranged league game – kick off 2.15pm. Other senior fixtures are still TBA.
