The team were expecting to play their second league fixture this week against Stoke. Unfortunately, the opposition were not able to put out a team. Win number one of the weekend 50-0 Burntwood U16’s.

Hinckley kindly stepped in last minute, travelling to Burntwood for a 11am KO.

After our own week of key injuries and sickness, it left the team low on numbers and wondering how to fill some important roles. Following a crash course at training, the remaining lads shuffled and stepped into the required gaps.
From kick off Burntwood looked a little sharper than normal, following a good little passage of play, Sam Bray burst through the back line for a try and conversion. Burntwood had an unusual early lead.
The game then settled in the centre of the field, both teams gaining ground with driving runs through the centre but Burntwood were uncharacteristically slow at the breakdown so possession changed hands repeatedly. This was until a ball dropped deep to Sam Bray who dummied and weaved his way through Hinckley to score a great individual try.
Now at 12-0 Burntwood, Hinckley started to pile on pressure for the last ten minutes of the first half and continued for the first 10 minutes of the second. Not helped by Burntwood being a player down to a yellow card for a high tackle, but the team did a good defensive job of soaking up the pressure and pushing Hinckley backwards when in counted.
As Hinckley continued to press, Burntwood managed to get the ball to Tyler Gillies for the first time with enough space around him to get up to full pace. Within seconds Tyler was running around the Hinckley backline and no one had the legs to stop him. Another great individual try from Burntwood and a conversion kicked by Sam Bray. Burntwood were up 19-0.
Hinckley to their credit did not let the score line stop them. They once again started to apply pressure, finally rewarded with a try and conversion halfway through the second half.
Burntwood responded quickly and pressed straight off the restart, the ball was turned over quickly and Lewis Timms shot off on a diagonal run, broke through a space in the back line and put the ball down for a Burntwood try.
Within a minute of the restart Tyler Gillies once again found himself with the ball in hand and space in front of him. This resulted in another excellent individual try for him and conversion from Sam Bray.
The final whistle blew at 31-7 and a big win for Burntwood.

Overall, the defensive play was a team performance, but the attack was dominated by individual scoring. However, at one point the teams usual second row were playing at number 9 and 10 so it is understandable that things would look and feel different. All the players stepping in to cover different roles did themselves and the team proud!
The challenge for the team next week is making sure that they defend and attack as a team as they face Lichfield in the League.

It is rare that any one team can boast about two big wins on the same day…..Up the Wood!