Burton @ Birmingham Solihull on February 10th 2008

Game 1: Birmingham & Solihull B 0 v Burton Eagles 20

The morning started sluggishly and the coaches were justifiably frustrated at the lads lack of concentration during warm up and drill.  However, when the serious business started the long drive to South Birmingham was worth every mile as the Eagles gave a valiant display of team rugby.  The Bee’s had a strong looking pack and looked like they were up for some competitive rugby. 

From the off this game was a hard fought defensive battle.  In the first minutes it took good defensive discipline to keep the Bee’s out.  Alex Dutoy, Sam Willets and Charlie Quarterman were straight into the action as the Bee’s drove forward down the middle.  The centre defensive line held firm and for all their effort the Bee’s made very little progress. 

Burton were also finding it difficult to break through the Bee’s line and the tackles were hard and relentless.  Then the breakthrough, a drive down the middle by Jonathon Kingston supported by William Hulbert and Daniel Grimsdell breached the Bee’s line.  Tommy Collingwood and Calum Launchbury cleared the way for Joshua Hart to pick up loose ball and dart over the line for his first try. 

From the restart a great tackle by Charlie Quarterman caused the Bee’s to spill ball, Jacob Buxton picked up the ball and passed to Joshua Hart and his pace allowed him to double his try tally.  The remainder of the half saw the Bee’s close to the Eagles try line, however, there was no easy passage and the efforts of Joel Dolman, and Calum Launchbury in the last seconds of the half kept the Bee’s out. 

The second half started as the first.  The hard tackling Sam Willets was injured early on and was replaced by Euan Johnson.  Alex Dutoy was the next Eagle injured in the line of duty and the hard tackles began to take there toll.  Once more it was the Eagles who scored first when Jonathon Kingston drove the ball forward supported by Daniel Grimsdell and Nadan Cox.  The ball was taken forward in a maul by Calum Launchbury and the end product was a splendid passing move involving Tommy Collingwood and Jacob Buxton and finished by another excellent execution by Joshua Hart. 

This try gave the Eagles a cushion and the play became more open and several good passing moves threatened to break the Bee’s line.  In the final minutes of the game Daniel Grimsdell scored the Eagles fourth try aided by Charlie Quarterman and William Hulbert. 

This was an excellent game of rugby and the defensive efforts gave the foundations for the eventual victory.  To a man this was an excellent all round team effort and the coaches were very pleased with the progress.  The airplanes were better.  However, there were too many penalties conceded and the tendency to pick up the ball in the rook and run is still very apparent.  Who said coaching is easy!

Game 1: Birmingham & Solihull B 0 v Burton Falcons 10

The glorious spring-like weather in Solihull set the scene for an excellent morning’s rugby. The conditions were cold and crisp but bathed in glorious winter sunshine. Both teams put on an excellent display, fitting of the conditions.
In many ways evenly matched, the game was slugged out in the middle of the park for long periods.

Free flowing rugby was at a premium but this made for an interesting encounter – a feast of solid tackling, rucking and mauling.

Josh Balance deserves particular mention for his commitment in the tackle, good handling and general spirited performance.

Oliver Corbett was also outstanding demonstrating strength in ripping and stripping the ball and endless tackling. His overall vision and awareness in anticipating the game resulted in some good set-up play allowing the likes of James North, Dominic Phillips and Josh Wright to receive the ball and venture forward.

John Robson kept busy in the tackle as did Cameron Scobie who also latched onto some very good pick-ups to run and drive forward.

The best move of the game for the Falcons, involving excellent handling and support play saw Luke Greenhill perfectly placed to receive ball and run in the only try of the first half.

The second half saw Lewis Kenney coming more into the action with a good low pick-up, run and set-up for the next phase.

Craig Plummer showed more determination with some better support play and a couple of good tackles. Josh Suddaby worked hard all game using his frame to great effect when the drive was on.

Oliver Corbett was rewarded for his hard work, running in the second try and was unlucky not to add a second, only to be adjudged to have handed-off his opponent as a break-away run developed.

The game ended with the Burton boys not conceding. A deserved score line after they had put in so much effort defensively.

Game 3 First half: Birmingham & Solihull B 0 v Burton Falcons 5

The Falcons shared the second game with the Eagles. Falcons played the first half and set things up nicely for their counterparts at half-time.

Notable work again from Oliver Corbett resulted in a fine interception of the ball and driving run before being tackled 15 yards out. Josh Suddaby picked up a difficult low ball, demonstrating clean handling skills.

Although the Falcons continued to be penalised for silly mistakes they stuck by their defensive duties resolutely.

John Robson and Lewis Kenney continued to tackle, as did James North and Dominic Phillips. North picked up the ball beautifully to set off on another run and then presented the ball intelligently to begin the next phase.

This game, like the first, was a forward’s encounter. Long runs from the backs were limited. However, Josh Wright finally found himself in possession out wide and ran in his try to set things up nicely for the Eagles second half………

Man of the match and Series: Josh Balance (Showed great courage and endeavour as his comeback continues – brave tackling!)