Matlock 32 Burton Cougars 12 on Dec 2nd 2007

On the Weekend of 2nd December, Burton Cougars travelled to Matlock for a fixture of 3 very different 20 minute periods.

In the first 20 minutes, the Cougars hit their hosts head on in a fine spectacle of rugby from both sides.  The bigger, more physical home side finally scored an unconverted try shortly before the 20th minute by taking advantage of a natural overlap.

The second period saw the Cougars lose their shape followed by their control of the game as Matlock continued to pressurise them into overlap situations, resulting in 5 tries for the home side.

The final 20 minutes of the game was a complete turnaround once more as the Cougars dominated the field and scored 2 unanswered tries through Tom Cooper and Paddy Gaunt.

The final score line of 32 – 12 in favour of the hosts reflected their ability to position themselves to cause and take advantage of an overlap, but also that the Cougars lost solidarity by getting flustered under pressure.