A Brett Taylor penalty goal with one minute left saw Burntwood make it to the final of the Staffordshire Intermediate Trophy final after a gripping contest against Newcastle (Staffs).

He kept his nerve from 40 metres out to deny the visitors who would have gone through as the away side in the event of tied scores at the end of normal time. Despite playing opponents who had enjoyed their best ever finish in the league above, the hosts made a bright start in front of a big touchline crowd. A thrusting run from Billy Fisher took play well into the Newcastle 22 after five minutes. It set up multi-phases of play which ended with prolific try scorer Luke Rookyard forcing his way over the line in the left corner for 5-0.

It was all Burntwood in the opening quarter and Taylor kicked an easy penalty goal on 15 minutes to extend the lead. The first venture by the visitors into the home half was halted by a turnover from Rob Jones. A series of penalty awards allowed his side to threaten the Newcastle line again but they went unrewarded following a knock-on and penalty against. The visitors narrowed the gap to a single point on 24 minutes. Good linking and pace out wide led to a try in the right corner which was superbly converted.

Burntwood responded with more pressure on the visitors’ try line aided by a dominant scrum. Rookyard, Fisher, Alfie Dewsbury and Craig Seedhouse all went close but Newcastle were able to clear after a knock-on in front of the posts. Seedhouse then made an important tackle on halfway to prevent the lively opposition backs escaping down the left wing. Despite losing a player to a yellow card for an offside offence, it needed more desperate defence by the hosts to keep Newcastle out right on half time in the clubhouse corner.

Five minutes into the second period, the visitors went ahead even though they were still a player down. They caught the home defence out by switching play from scrummage ball to race away to the left corner. The conversion was missed to leave the scoreline 12-8.
Burntwood responded with their set piece play on top form but their use of the ball out wide lacked the normal cutting edge. However, Newcastle suffered a triple blow to their chances of making the final just after the hour mark. First they lost a player to a yellow card for a high tackle on Ben Holt. They lost another player to a red card shown for dissent and then their coach was banished from the touchline having upset the referee.

Repeated scrum pressure led to a tapped penalty which Tom Shorrock finished off by forcing his way over the line. Taylor added a fine conversion from near the left corner and it was 15-12 with ten minutes of normal time left. Back came Newcastle, despite their numerical disadvantage, to level the scores with a penalty goal on 33 minutes but, crucially, another kickable attempt five minutes later slipped right of the target. They also blew a chance to clinch the win when their back division linked to race into home territory close to the final whistle only for the scoring pass to be dropped on the 22 line.

James Kennedy led a break across the halfway line to produce the infringement which allowed Taylor to kick at goal. Respectful silence turned to wild cheers as the ball found its target. There was barely time to restart before the final whistle sounded.

Burntwood last made the final in 2011 and last won the trophy a year earlier. Their task will be tough as they face Stafford who completed a league double over Newcastle. However, Burntwood will have the advantage of hosting the final as part of SRU President’s Day on 30th April.

Burntwood turn their attentions to another cup competition this Saturday when they travel to Mansfield for their second round tie in the Papa John’s Community Cup.