Nottingham 58 Burton 14 on   Jan 27th 2007

This weekend, Burton U15 Cougars travelled to Nottingham to play Nottingham RFC.   Due to pitch conditions at Lady Bay, the game was hosted at Nottingham Casuals’ ground in Beeston.    The ground was particularly good, coupled with bright skies and a light breeze the conditions were set for a great game of rugby.

Burton kicked off to start the game; Nottingham brought the ball back and put the young ‘Crofters under pressure.  Burton soon realised that they were up against a quality side; with several players in the Nottingham team playing representative rugby, the Cougars had their work cut out.  Burton Cougars defended valiantly but were unable to stem the flow of tries from the Nottingham side.    Despite playing very well, the Cougars found themselves 4 tries adrift before Tom Cooper finally crossed the line for a converted try to open Burton’s account.  A further try for Nottingham closed the first half at 31 – 7.

 As the game progressed into the second half, Burton became more fluid and pressed their opposition.  Two Nottingham tries were met with an excellent defensive display from the Cougars and then a series of prolonged attack which lead to a try through Matty Davies.  This was the culmination of a huge team effort that saw the Cougars held up 3 times before finally getting their well earned try.  Although Nottingham kept the upper hand; their game became increasingly bad tempered as they upped their physicality to keep the Cougars at bay.    A very vigorous game saw Nottingham score twice more to finish the game 58 – 14 in favour of the hosts.

In spite of the score line, this was a spirited and committed performance by Burton Cougars, travelling with depleted numbers, their options were limited.  Playing against a physically immense side who appeared to have no weaker players in the squad, the Cougars relied on team work and resilience to keep in the game.  The Cougars kept their discipline, despite a couple of unfortunate decisions by the official and some aggressive play from the Nottingham side