After another perfectly observed minutes silence for HLMQE2 Burntwood kicked off against Tamworth in our first league fixture ever.
Right from the off it looked like it was going to be a close encounter with Tamworth having the edge out wide and the Wood being stronger up front.
As per we went 5 nil down early on to a Tamworth try, but were soon back in it when Woody having taking the ball from the back of a maul that appeared to be trundling over, and nipped through a gap to score. 5 - 5.
The game settled down for a while with Wood dominating the scrum but Tamworth having the better of the breakdown.
A change in the back row saw the introduction of Alfie W and we were soon in front, Alfie pirouetting the way only he can and the conversion scored by Woody, 12 - 5 to Wood and we were deservedly in front.
Suddenly a break through from Tamworth and couple of kicks on and a foot race to score or defend. Defence played the man off the ball and the ref rightly awards a penalty try, half time 12 - 12.
The second half went much the same as the first, with Tamworth throwing it wide and Burntwood keeping it tight.
The problem with that is if you don't make your tackles or get to the breakdown quick enough then the opposition punish you. Tamworth obliged with three breakaway tries (one converted) leaving us 29 - 12 down with about 10 minutes left.
The boys kept going to the end though Lewis scoring a late try from a short tap penalty to burst through their defence and Woody converting.
The final result was probably just about fair, but it could have been so much different.
Well played everyone and best wishes to new Tyler who dislocated his shoulder in his first ever game for us. He looked good when he was on. Sadly I understand he also needs another new shirt, let's hope the next one lasts longer than one game!
Up The Wood