Lichfield RUFC ventured into a blustery Birmingham on Saturday and returned from Bournville with a 36-11 win.
The visitors played with the wind in the first half in an opening exchange that ebbed and flowed as both teams looked to shake off the rust of a week’s rest and gain the upper hand. It was the home side who struck first with the easiest of penalties.
Both teams were struggling to play with continuity as mistakes and good defence dictated play. It was Lichfield who looked most threatening with the ball, and after two nearly breaks, Rowlands finished off a good team try. Play was taken into the Bournville half, and a long cut out pass from Burton found Cotterhill who weaved his way through the defence and fed a well-timed pass inside to Rowlands. Luke Massey made an excellent conversion in difficult conditions.
With a half lacking any intensity, the Greens struggled to play through their phases as Bournville contrived to kick away as much possession as possible.
It was the final ten minutes of the half that saw the game open up more, as another excellent piece of team work from Lichfield saw Cotterhill once again elude defenders before feeding Rowlands to grab his second. Massey again converted and his side looked worth their lead.
But Bournville struck right back as another penalty in front of the posts was taken, and the half concluded with the scoreboard reading 6-14.
The second period did not start the way Lichfield would have wanted, as the kick off failed to go ten and the hosts were gifted a midfield scrum. From here they played through some phases before the centre stepped inside and went over for the score. The conversion was missed but the lead was still closed to just three points.
With the half time messages still ringing in their ears, the Greens set about their business in a manner befitting their current form. Excellent forward play and some astute kicking from Evans, Cotterhill and Massey saw any hopes Bournville had dashed as the visitors pressed and hurried their opponents into numerous mistakes.
Excellent ground work from Milner saw a turnover kicked through, before the chase saw Milner again steal the ball to cross the line. Massey added a most impressive conversion and Lichfield were up and running.
The defensive work of Burton, Thompson and Milner were being coveted on the sideline and when the Greens again upped their tempo with quick tap penalties, there was no stopping Turner who crashed over from close range.
Lichfield started to use their bench and when Cotterhill moved to scrum half for the injured Evans, Bournville must have thought their troubles would ease. But Cotterhill carried on the good work, grabbing himself a try in the process. As the front row of Squire and Poole pressured the scrum, the ball came loose for the ever present Milner and after two quick offloads Cotterhill crossed.
The visitors weren’t done, and they continued to rebuff any home attack and generate try scorning opportunities of their own. After a fantastic forward surge, it was fitting that Milner came away with the ball and spun over for the final score of the game, taking the final whistle to 11-36.
A business-like display from Lichfield who will face a different challenge against a form Bromsgrove team who have an eye on second spot and revenge after a narrow defeat against the Greens earlier in the season.
Lichfield: Squire, Gabbitass, Poole, Thompson, Southern, Turner, Milner, Burton (capt); Evans, L Massey, Wootton, Maxwell-Keys, J Massey, Rowlands, Cotterhill. Subs: Clarke, Milner, Fielding.
