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Burton 20 Lichfield 18 on Sep 2nd 2006

Burton ‘A’ team opened their season with a game against local rivals Lichfield and after a period of struggling to adapt to conditions some great spirit resulted in a win of 20-18.  From the start Burton looked to be the better team as they drove forward from the kick-off and soon got a lineout deep in the Lichfield half. A great leap by Nick Thurman saw him win the lineout and tap the ball to Will Forrester, who showed great speed as he peeled round the front of the line to race in and score from 25 metres out. Newcomer Garth Cogan added the extra points to give Burton a 7-0 lead after just 10 minutes. But this score jolted the Lichfield side into life and some of their more experienced players began to control the game and a good forward drive saw them level the scores after 35 minutes play.

But from the restart Burton surged back up field and Ben Waldron’s surging run from 20 metres out gave him a try, which Cogan again converted to re-establish Burton’s lead at 14-7 just as the half-time whistle sounded. 

The second half started with Lichfield in the ascendancy as they added a further try to their score following some smart back play. Burton hit back with Ian Cartwright and Lee English both making impressive inroads into the opposition’s defence and forcing some great defensive work from the Lichfield back row. Both sides then added converted penalty shots at goal to take the score to 17-15 with 20 minutes to play. With only 10 minutes remaining Burton suffered a major blow as they conceded a penalty on their own 22 which Lichfield had no hesitation in converting to put then in the lead at 17-18. The nine remaining minutes saw Burton lay siege to the visitor’s line as first Charl Neethling and then Chris Ariss just failed to ground the ball as the Burton forwards attacked the line. But the pressure paid off as on the stroke of the final whistle Lichfield failed to stay on their feet at a breakdown and were penalised and Garth Cogan stepped up to take the vital kick. Cogan held his nerve and put the ball between the posts to give Burton a 20-18 win from a hard fought contest.