A good start by Burton was marred by a spilled ball in the tackle that saw the Stafford winger race in to score a converted try after Burton had controlled every piece of play for the first ten minutes. Burton responded immediately as they moved the ball out wide to Tom Atherton who made good ground before being stopped three yards short of the line but the Burton pack arrived in force and Chris Ariss drove over for a try to mark his return from injury.

Burton then went through a spell of total dominance in which they never looked like scoring but finally late in the half Burton’s control in scrum and lineout paid dividends as the ball was switched down the blind side to find Sean Green on hand to score.

In the lead and with the advantage of both slope and elements Burton never looked back in the second half as they piled on the pressure playing with a better structure and more composure than in the first period. First a neat chip by scrum half Ian Jones was pounced on by Gavin Cole for the first of his brace. Then Will Forrester and Dave Viles both used their immense power and size to drive over for scores, before Cole added his second with an individual effort that saw him dummy his way over from fifteen yards out. Ian Cartwright’s three conversions gave Burton an emphatic 36-7 victory.