BURTON 1st XV vs STAFFORD 1ST XV. 29th August 2015.

Burton 99 – 5 Stafford

Stafford travelled to Burton for the first engagement of the new season. A first round cup match against their East Staffordshire opposition always promised to be a testing encounter. Last minute changes to the team saw the visitors brining a small squad, with the head coach and physio forming the majority of a hastily assembled bench.

The first quarter of the match saw Burton pile on the pressure with three well taken tries. Stafford weren’t given the opportunity to settle into the game and battled to get any time with the ball. Slowly the visitors scrapped their way into a difficult game and tenacious, grinding play saw Ross Newell falling over the line to grab a deserved try for Stafford. Three more Burton tries finished the half and shut down any chance the travelling XV had of a comeback. Stafford went into half time trailing 40 – 5, but still holding their heads high.

Burton continued their momentum in the second half with three more tries before being reduced to fourteen men courtesy of a yellow card. Tired Stafford legs continued to compete, but didn’t have the energy to hold back the final six tries of the game.

A difficult afternoon for a Stafford squad short on manpower. They can take solace from a disciplined performance which gave away very few penalties and incurred no cards despite the constant pressure.