On Sunday 25th November Burton Under 15s Cougars played host to Old Towcestrians at Shobnall leisure centre.  Knowing that their guests had travelled  in excess of 60 miles for the encounter the young ‘Crofters were expecting firm opposition and they were not disappointed.  The game that unfurled was an exciting spectacle for all supporters.

Old Towcestrians kicked off and immediately put Burton Cougars under pressure. The visitors had a well drilled side who displayed excellent handling skills and ran great lines.  Despite the Cougars working hard to gain composure and possession, the visitors opened the scores with an un-converted try.  Burton relaxed a little and began to play some flowing rugby themselves but found themselves on the retreat several times due to their guests, ability to force quick turn-over ball.  Alex Gray was outstanding in defence, demonstrating tackling and counter-rucking which encouraged his team mates to follow suit.  Although Burton were fighting back and in the game, Old Towcestrians crossed the line for a second time.  The Cougars continued with their determined play which saw them attack the visitors’ line time and time again.  Tom Cooper crossed for Burton to give them a well deserved score.  The half finished with Burton pushing for the equaliser, but kept out by some terrific defending by the Towcester team.

The second half saw many changes for Burton Cougars as the replacements were given the opportunity to pit their skills against the great opposition.   Unfortunately the continuity was lost and Old Towcestrians crossed the line twice before the new look Cougars found their feet.  A period of dogged defence in midfield was rewarded when Cooper intercepted a pass and sped to the line for a try which he added the conversion.  With just 2 scores in it, the Cougars worked tremendously hard in attack, cutting superb lines and making good ground and were often just one pass or side-step away from scoring.  Their visitors reciprocated by camping out on the Burton try line for above five minutes.  Burton Cougars toiled in defence and their dogged determination got them back into their opponents half.  Even though the Cougars pushed hard for another score, the final points of the day came from a tremendous run of play from the visitors.

The final score of 12 – 27 reflected the skills and abilities of the Old Towcestrians, but proved also that the Burton Cougars have developed well this season.  In the past such opposition may have won by a huge margin but in this fixture, the Cougars were hot on their tails and looking to close the scores at every opportunity.

On reflection this was a good performance by the Cougars.  Against a well drilled and talented opposition, they upped their game.  The passing and running lines demonstrated were greatly improved and the speed at which the game was played showed the improvement in fitness and tenacity of all players since the start of the season.  The visiting side had the edge with the speed of their rucking but were well matched in all other areas