Lichfield 3rds 19 Burton Vets 12 on 19th January 2008

A late change of fixture saw Burton Vets travel to play Lichfield 3rds and although beaten they were not disgraced by their younger and fitter opponents. Welcoming back Paul ‘soft hands’ Davies to the fold Burton also giving debuts to Andy Lumby and Liam Sharratt it was a much changed side that took to the field, but with other more experienced players able to blend the team together Burton started the game off well. 

Initially Burton’s forwards dominated all set pieces and gained vast amounts of ground with powerful runs from Andy Tebbs, Lee Carter and Colin Wood, while the support of Andy Betteridge was excellent. A breakaway try by the opposition opened the scoring and this was quickly followed by a further score after a kick and chase, but although trailing 12-0 Burton were still playing some good rugby. One superb piece of play by Andy Betteridge saw him side-step the opposition winger before dummying the fullback to feed Andy Tebbs who crashed over from a yard out to put Burton on the score board at the break.

The second half saw Burton still trying to play rugby but tiring legs did not help their cause and also allowed Lichfield to increase their lead to 19-5 when another breakaway saw Lichfield’s winger evade all the Burton team as he strolled to the line. But Burton were not to be outdone and a great forward drive led by Dave Brown saw him set up Colin Wood for a twenty metre burst to score. Paul Davies’s conversion put Burton within a score. Burton went all out for that elusive try but even the deft inspiring footwork of Rich Tyers on the wing couldn’t produce another score and so Burton returned home defeated 19-12.