Burton started well with two early tries from Steve Cross and AJ Jackson. However, Camp Hill came back strongly and appeared to be back in the game with a well taken chip and chase from their fly half.

Once Burton removed themselves from a forward wrestling match and created quick rucked ball from good surges, the backs penetrated and tries from Ian Jones, Jack Knight and Tom Mayne followed. Although Camp responded with two tries, by fifteen minutes into the second half Burton were all but home and dry with two more scores from Jackson for his hat trick and another snipe from Jones. Ian Cartwright added four conversions to bring the score to 48-17. Six substitutions were made in the second half and Camp’s hard work was rewarded with two late tries to bring the final score to 48-27. All credit should be given to a good team effort; James Bullous in the “boiler house” was named as man of the match.

The Under 17s have 20 fixtures this season and are committed to continuing the season when other clubs with strong junior set ups decline the chance to develop all their 16 to 17 year olds. Good luck in their endeavours.

A newly formed Trentham outfit were no match for a Burton XV on a roll. The return of Ian Cartwright meant even more three quarter options on the day.

Once again Burton took an early lead through Tom Mayne, the move created by quick ball sent wide at an early opportunity.

The pattern was not to change in the first half and tries from hooker Jason Hooper, Wing jack Knight, Luke Peach, Ian Cartwright and another from Mayne with three conversions from Cartwright meant a 36-0 half time score.

Burton brought on their substitutes and the one way traffic continued. Burton did well to keep their structure throughout the game and although passing and handling was at times average, tries from Knight, AJ Jackson, Rory Peverell, man of the match James Bullous and ‘youngster’ Will Peach ensued.

Two conversions from Cartwright (new kicking tee) and Will Peach meant a final score of 69-0. Full credit must go to a Trentham side that were more than a match at set piece but struggled in the loose and defensively. Coach Mark Leat should be proud of the way the lads stuck to the task. Good luck to his team for the rest of the season.

Burton had a dream start after kicking off straight into touch; the resultant Derby scrum was dropped by their backs and it was hacked on into their twenty two – the ball was turned over and AJ Jackson was at hand on the wing to touch down. The conversion was missed and Derby came back strongly in the forwards, however the Burton defence held firm.

At one stage a rear guard action on the try line seemed to have an inevitability about it but Burton once again cleared their lines.

It was then Burton’s turn on the offensive and if the ball had not have been dropped twice around the Derby twenty two; Burton could have put the game out of reach by half time.

In the second half, Derby came back strongly and opted to kick for goal from a penalty; the resulting effort however sailed wide.

With a little more than ten minutes remaining Derby finally breached the Burton try line with a forward drive. The successful conversion meant that Derby now lead 7-5.

Burton immediately responded and a penalty was awarded in a kickable range. Luke Peach’s effort narrowly missed the posts but Burton came back again. The ball was spun to Tom Mayne and the centre powered his way under the posts for a try, duly converted by Peach.

Burton had kicked cleverly for territory in the second half and another Peach kick found the Derby back three wanting. A knock on meant a Burton scrum – winger Jackson saw the blindside opportunity and beat his man to seal the win 17-7. A fine display from both teams in which hardly a tackle was missed, hopefully both teams will look forward to their next encounter.
Burton’s Man of the match – The whole XV !

Burton stretched their unbeaten start to the season with a fine all round display against inevitably strong opponents. The 3 tries to 1 score line may suggest Burton were comfortable in victory. The truth was that Nottingham probably had 60% of the possession but until the last four minutes barely troubled the Burton 22 metre line. This was down to another resolute defensive performance from forwards and backs. Although all players tackled well, of special note was centre Tom Mayne and Fly half Luke Peach, with Pack leader Jason Hooper marshalling activities.

When Burton had possession they took their chances: Ali Eastwood, on as a temporary injury replacement for winger Jack Knight coasted in on the left side through a ball spun wide from a midfield counter attack. Both sides continued to batter into each other at rucks but defences were solid as the ball was moved into the open. Burton’s scrum had the edge which meant the Notts halfbacks and number 8 were regularly on the back foot. A 5-0 score line at half time meant everything to play for in the last 35 minutes.

Burton drew first blood however; Mayne barging over after being fed by Peach. A third try followed, this time from flanker Ashley Smith; not for the first time stealing ball from the Notts pack and dropping over from two metres. Nottingham were looking shell shocked but all credit must go to the side as they came at Burton in last 15 minutes. Burton’s defence finally succumbed with 4 minutes remaining, Notts blind side flanker diving in under the posts from a forward drive. With the successful conversion, Notts were still in the game but Burton held out once more until the final whistle.

Yet another excellent display from both teams, thoroughly enjoyable to watch – and referee!!

Burton travelled to Willenhall unbeaten but aware that they faced a stiff challenge.

Playing into a breeze and uphill Burton started uncharacteristically slowly. Willenhall opted to kick much of their possession which was well tidied by Burton’s back three. Their hosts had the better of the early forward exchanges and were deserved leaders after 15 minutes when a simple backs move was well executed for a try. The conversion was wide and Burton knew they had to up the work rate.

Five minutes later a dropped ball was hacked on by Burton winger AJ Jackson. He then showed his football skills and outpaced the Willenhall back three to drop on the ball for a try. ‘Taffy’ Cartwright nailed the conversion from out wide and Burton were back in the game.

As Burton finished the first half strongly their opponents became agitated and began to get on the wrong side of the referee. Cartwright was asked to convert 2 penalty goals before half time one of which was successful. With a 10-5 lead Burton began to exert pressure on the Willenhall full back with a series of probing kicks. From one of these Willenhall infringed once more for Cartwright to land another 3 points.

The kicking theme continued and an enormous kick from flanker Tom Proctor saw panic in the hosts back division and Proctor dive on his own kick for another try. Cartwright duly converted for a 20-5 lead. Willenhall transgressed twice more within kicking range and Cartwright stepped up to punish their indiscipline for a further 6 points.

With the game in the bag, Burton could afford to give all their subs a run out. Man of the match was prop Keiran Buckley for his calmness whilst under fairly constant intimidation. The tackling of left wing Jack Knight was another highlight on a successful day.

Several changes were made to Burton’s starting line up due to injury and unavailability. Fortunately for the hosts their under strength visitors were no match for them ; Mark Popejoy, Chris Lycett, Tom Atherton and Joe Simpkins and Barry Gibbs all taking advantage of some match practice.

Burton had the ball over the Loughbro’ try line three times in the early stages but two knock-ons and a forward pass meant a nil-nil score line for the first 15 minutes. Burton’s pressure finally paid off when the ball was swept through the backs from a quick ruck on their opponents 22 allowing Left Wing Lycett to score with ease.

Shortly after the Burton pack moved the ball from inside their own half and released Tom Mayne at pace, he in turn fed Taffy Cartwright who drew the last defender allowing Luke Peach to stroll in under the posts. Loughbro’, always strong in the scrum, seem to come to life at this point and only stubborn defence from the Burton team stemmed a number of powerful forward drives.

Burton managed to move play away from their 22 and another ball taken at pace by Mayne gave him the chance to surge past the remaining Loughbro’ defence for another score under the posts. With Cartwright converting tries 2 and 3 the half time score was 19-0.

A rather lethargic second half saw only one more score; scrum half Rory Peverell sniping over the line and Cartwright adding the extras. This was the last action for Peverell as a dead leg saw Jack “the lad” Handy make his season debut. The match was halted a few minutes early due to a knee injury to Mark Popejoy which required the paramedic’s attention. Happily no long term damage was found and we wish Mark a speedy recovery.

Many thanks to Ashley Smith and Matt Turner for assisting the Loughbro’ ranks during the match. Man of the match – Tom Mayne, great angles of running.

Burton’s trip to North Leicester was another fruitful affair thus maintaining the teams 100% record.

A good all round team performance was the back bone to the morning’s success. Although Jimmy’s had their fair share of possession, Burton’s defence remained intact not for the first time this season.

As the hosts attack was snuffed out Burton in turn took full advantage of their own ball – running in three first half tries: A break from centre Taffy Cartwright on the right saw Full Back Rory Peverell move into the line and take the pass at pace. He was held up near the try line but managed to pop the ball away to winger Chris Lycett who gratefully accepted the opportunity for try number one.

Try two was a somewhat bizarre affair – Cartwright stripping the ball away from the Jimmy’s centre and racing in under the posts. The successful conversion by the same meant Burton were in the driving seat. Peverell was in the thick of the action and found himself at fly half fifteen metres out. A show and go fooled the defence’s back line and he darted over for the third try. A successful conversion by Cartwright brought the half time score to 19-0.

Several changes were made especially in the pack which made Burton’s set piece wobble, however the tackling of Luke Peach, Tom Mayne and Lock Matt Armitage ensured Jimmy’s repeatedly came up short. Although the second half was scoreless the game was played at a fine pace and Jimmy’s did not give up the ghost, all credit must go to them.

Men of the match – Steve Cross, a true ‘open side’ game and Matt Armitage, great tackling and rampaging ball carries.

If someone had told the author that by the end of 2004, his squad could win 7 from 8 games he would have gladly accepted the news! Unfortunately, the Xmas Beer & Balti night was not ideal preparation for a trip to one of the better sides they have faced.

Burton showed in phases the form which has brought them their 7 from 7 record but Sills were quick to capitalise on sore heads! All credit to the hosts as they snuffed out Burton’s attacks with a mixture of quick turnover ball at the rucks and some more ‘professional’ tactics on the blind side; all part of the game I hasten to add. Sills opened the scoring with a quick backs move but failed to convert. This seemed to spur Burton and they camped on the Sills try line for several minutes whilst the referee gave several penalties for ball killing. Finally the referee’s patience gave way and he sin binned a Sills players. A deflected kick was well fielded by Taffy Cartwright and he fed Luke Peach who grounded the ball on the try line. Cartwright converted and Burton held an unlikely lead.

However, Burton infringed in their twenty two and the penalty was duly kicked for Sills to lead 8-7 at half time.

Burton’s cobwebs had begun to blow away and the mood at half time break was positive. Unfortunately the game was all but lost in the first few minutes of the restart – sloppy tackling allowed Sills centre to run through under the posts and an intercepted pass allowed another run in for the score to read 22-7.

With Tom Proctor in the sin bin and Scrum Half Ian Jones and Centre Tom Mayne off due to injury it seemed the wheels were falling off. To their credit Burton came back at their opponents, unfortunately an uncharacteristic penalty miss from Cartwright was the last thing they needed. Finally Cartwright made up for his missed kick with a try he then converted.

The turning point of the game came with little time remaining – Cartwright appeared to ground the ball on the Sills try line only for the referee to penalise him for holding on. Sills had controlled the tempo of the game to suit them and they ran down the clock for a final core of 22-14.

Well done to Sills, we hope to see them at Burton in the New Year. Commiserations to Burton, perhaps less festive fun on the Saturday would have helped their task! Man of the Match – Ian “Taffy” Cartwright – could have won the game on his own with a little luck.

Although several regulars were missing from the Burton line up, the team showed plenty of desire after the short break. The game followed a similar pattern to the previous encounter

Trentham were able in the set piece but if ball was turned over, the Burton back line punished their opponents in open play. The new half back pairing of Peverell and Cartwright supplied the three quarters with plenty of ball and five tries were scored in the first half; three coming from Richard Green on his season debut. Cartwright and wing Jack Knight claimed a try apiece and the former added two conversions for a 29-0 half time score line.

Although Trentham never gave up and showed endeavour in the second half, the last 15 minutes brought more scores: two from the pack (hooker Jason Hooper and Lock Matt “Gloucester” Armitage’s first for the club) and three from the backs; debutant Centre Tom Adams, Wing Chris Lycett and Replacement Full back Errol Eastwood.

Cartwright added three more conversions to bring a final score of 60-0. Not many questions were asked of the Burton team and they recognised that there is still room for improvement in most areas. However, it was encouraging to see several players pushing hard for starting places in future games. The pick of the forwards was Matt Armitage; his ball carrying and big hits on opponents were a feature of the game. Man of the match – Jack Knight: solid in defence and lively in attack, he fully deserved his try.              

  Visits into uncharted waters with a pack re-shuffle due to injuries and illness was always going to be a test. Forest were a better standard than expected but it was recognised very quickly that if pressure was applied on the well drilled pack and dangerous looking backs Burton would be rewarded. This exercise required the team to step up to fill the experienced gaps and this they did with relish.

Under 16 hooker Carl Timmins did not look out of place alongside Jason Hooper at loose head and the back row of Tom Proctor, Mark Popejoy and Ashley Smith set about disrupting all before them. As the game plan came together, the backs were allowed to attack with purpose and pace. A penalty for killing the ball under Forest’s posts was smartly shipped wide and Popejoy benefited with a try in the right corner.

More of the same medicine was dished out in the next fifteen minutes: Burton’s handling and continuity was a fine sight and an unselfish draw and pass from Taffy Cartwright put winger Jack Knight in for a try on the left. Openside Smith dived over for try number 3 and from a similar position; the young Timmins bundled over for number 4. Cartwright converted 2 scores for a half time score of 24-0.

With the pitch slope giving Forest an advantage in the second half they started well. Under 16 Will Peach and Tom Atherton had been brought on at 10 and 14 respectively and Burton tackled strongly repelling several attacks. A number of held up balls gave Forest five metre scrums; one ruck resulted in the Forest hooker not taking kindly to some shoe-age, punches were thrown and the referee gave him his marching orders.

More pack changes due to injury resulted in fly half Luke Peach finishing the game at Number 8 giving him plenty of tackling practice! Finally, with the last move of the match Forest squeezed in at the left corner, a thoroughly deserved try for their efforts. With a 24-5 final score line, this was one of the better team performances of the season. Man of the match – Ashley Smith: a thorough nuisance in the tight and loose.    

Burton needed a good test to prepare for their Staffs Cup semi-final in a fortnight and visitors Nottingham duly obliged. Although large periods of the game were not too pretty the Burton pack are to be praised for applying pressure on Notts set piece which ultimately brought them victory.

After only two minutes Steve Cross charged down the stand off’s kick and gratefully pounced on the rebound for the first try. Notts inevitably rallied with strong running in the backs but their opposite numbers stood fast displaying excellent tackling technique. A turnover ball in midfield lead to a dazzling passage of passing play involving Tom Proctor, Chris Lycett and Ian Cartwright. The move down the right finished with Cartwright running in towards the try line only to be pulled back for a marginal forward pass.

This seemed to spur Notts again and they were rewarded with a penalty goal shortly afterwards. Another penalty attempt however went wide. Burton came back into the game and the pack were again in ascendancy – Tom Proctor charged over the try line, the ball just landing on the line for another five points.

An unfortunate injury to the Notts scrum half, lead to Burton under 16 No9 Tom Cook marshalling proceedings for the visitors in the second half. The 10-3 score line seemed fragile as the visitors pressurised the Burton defence who time and time again stood firm.

The last five minutes of the game proved significant as Burton disrupted two Notts line outs in their own half and with good tactical kicking the pack found itself on the Notts twenty-two. Lock Matt Armitage decided to take matters into his own hands at a ruck and, picking up the ball charged like a silver back towards the line with three defenders hanging onto him. Nothing was going to stop his run and he gleefully dived over the try line. Cartwright converted for a final score of 17-3.

Men of the match James “Fluffy” Thorpe – reliable as ever at full back and Tom “Mullet” Hawkins – the tight head was always in the thick of the forward exchanges.   

A highly motivated and pumped up Burton team were quickly deflated by a well drilled and determined opposition who obviously felt that they had something to prove!

From the kick off Lichfield’s forwards cleared out with ferocity and the backs attacked with purpose using width to stretch Burton’s defence. After five minutes, a number of recycled rucks found centre James Capel in space to go over for the first try. Although Burton defended well, Lichfield were adept at off loading in the tackle area which allowed them to cross the gain line. Lichfield extended their lead in similar fashion to the first score when wing Jamie Beaumont crossed. Although Greg Massey failed to convert again, the signs were looking ominous. Burton responded with some strong drives of their own and were camped in the Lichfield 22 at half time.

The second half was played mostly in the midfield as defences ruled. Lichfield found a gap on the left hand side and once John Everton had possession in space he was always going to beat full back Fluffy Thorpe to the try line. The final try was from scrum half Massey who darted from a maul on the half way line and outstripped the Burton back line to score under the posts. He duly converted for a final score of 22-0. Burton came back at their opponents once more in the final quarter but Lichfield held strong. Congratulations to Lichfield for a solid performance. Good luck in the final on the 27^th.

Man of the match – Fly half Luke Peach – lived on scraps and tried hard to find a way through the Lichfield defence.   

A much improved Trentham team visited Burton for their third meeting this season.

From the off set, although Burton attacked through the middle and out wide, Trentham defended with more purpose than in previous encounters. It was inevitable that Burton would break down the defence at some stage and it was with a ball spun wide to right Tom Atherton, taking advantage of a rare start that raced in to score. Trentham took up the challenge and eventually forced a penalty in kicking distance; the points were taken by the Fly Half who had begun well with his kicking game.

Burton responded down the right hand side again and a loose ball was scooped up by Rory Peverell who darted over from fifteen metres to touch down. On the stroke of half time Tom Mayne picked up from a ruck and dived over for a 15-3 lead.

The second half saw both teams a little disinterested with playing affairs, choosing the ‘wind up’ route. This led to a few outbreaks of hand bags and a warning for both sides. The Burton forwards decided to up the tempo and it was they who added to the score line. Firstly Steve Cross crashed through on the left and a similar charge from Jason Hooper brought the score to 25-3. With Taffy Cartwright leaving his kicking tee at home this was the eventual final score.

An earlier collar bone injury to James Bullous turned out to be bad bruising. We wish him all the best in his recovery.   

Burton were visited by a Derby XV keen to avenge the early season home defeat. Although this game did not reach the intense heights of that match, both sides still played with skill and determination.

Burton started the strongest as their pack tore around the park supplying good ball for their half backs. Several times the Burton backs seemed to breach the Derby defences but they managed to hang on each time. Burton also had ascendancy at the set piece. Finally, Taffy Cartwright managed to squeeze over after a number of phases. He failed to convert his own effort from out wide.

Instead of capitulating, Derby found new strength and began to work their way into the game. The three quarters went beyond their gain line due to some ineffective tackling and their pack started to shove their opponents around in the mauls. With half time approaching Full Back Rory Peverell inexplicably tried to kick clear on his goal line instead of touching down for a drop out. His effort was charged down and Derby pounced on the ball for the equalizer. The missed conversion brought half time with it and teams level.

The second half was a “ping pong” affair with both sides having periods of possession and territory from which they failed to capitalise. Sadly from Burton’s point Half Backs ‘Chips’ and Peach went off the boil and therefore the ‘3s’ duties were limited to defensive ones. To his credit young Peverell made amends for his previous indiscretion with three try saving tackles, the last one knocking the stuffing out of him!

The match was excellently refereed by Martin Evans who drew the game to a close pleased that neither side had won. I would agree that a draw was a fair outcome, well done to both side for entertaining the crowd. Men of the match – wing Tom Atherton, once again took full advantage of a start with great runs and sound defence; Lock James Bullous – back from injury, charged around the pitch like he’d never been away.