Burton 39 Willenhall 24 on Sept 23rd 2007

This weekend, Burton U15s Cougars opened their County fixtures by hosting Willenhall on the Ox-Hay.  In good conditions Burton set about making an improvement on last weeks performance.

Willenhall kicked off and a handling error from the Cougars left them on the back foot, but the young ‘Crofters kept their cool and defended well in the opening minutes.  Despite the opening pressure from the visitors, the first points were Burton’s through a Tom Cooper try.  Willenhall kept battling and were rewarded when they slipped into  the lead with a converted try.  Burton Cougars found their feet and upped the tempo, good ball retention and team-play resulted in tries from Cooper, Paddy Gaunt and Matty Davies.  The Cougars were equally as responsive in defence, letting in only one more try before half time despite Willenhall refusing to back down.  The first half closed with the Cougars leading 22 -12.

Burton Cougars opened the second period of play by scoring through Tom Hall.  Willenhall responded with a sustained attack from which Burton looked as if they had recovered when a loose ball was scooped up just 5m out, gifting the visitors an easy try. Burton Cougars regained their composure and played a concise attacking game, Matty Davies crossing the whitewash for a second time while Willenhall displayed their frustrations.  A final try from the visitors was neutralised by a charge-down try grounded by Sam Hooper, Cooper added the conversion as the final seconds of the game played out.  The final score 39 – 24

This week’s performance was infinitely better than the previous game; the Cougars kept their shape and discipline in defence and worked as a team in attack.  The opposition worked equally hard and initially looked as if they were the better side, however they began to fray once on the back-foot and discipline became the major factor in the game.  Burton Cougars gave away far fewer penalties in every aspect of the game and remained calm and resilient in defence – a good show all round, keep it up gents!