Ashby 1sts 41 Burton 'A' 12  on 5th April 2008

To give Ashby a home fixture Burton ‘A’ XV switched venue and may well have regretted this at the final whistle after receiving a comprehensive second half defeat that resulted in a 41-12 score line.  

With wind and rain sweeping the pitch Burton were soon on the offensive and with a fit again Tom Bartram making some fine penetrating runs everything looked to be going well for Burton. But the Ashby side did not intend slipping up against a club’s second team and soon showed they meant business when they ran in two quick scores to take an early lead 12-0.

A break by Bartram saw him reduce the arrears as he benefited from Mike Prince’s experience at scrum half as he took a flat ball and raced through the cover to score a return try. Bartran converted his own try and so Burton only trailed 12-7 with the first half three quarters of the way through. But Ashby hit back with another try before a wonderful Burton move involving both backs and forwards saw Ben Peach sneak over in the corner to take the score to 17-12 and bring the half time whistle.

Unfortunately injuries to Tom Gregory, Ben Peach and Mike Prince saw Burton having to blood some youngsters possibly earlier in the game than they would have wanted. Although the youngster, Richard James Lewis Johnson and George Wright, acquitted themselves well the efforts of their other teammates did not realy match those put in by the youngsters. This resulted in the floodgates opening as the heavier Ashby pack piled on the pressure and Burton struggled to contain them. Despite some great tackling by Rich Wilton, George Wright and Ashby utilised their better organisation and experience to control the second half and scored four tries, two converted, to run out winners thanks to a powerful second half display that left Burton wondering what might have been.