STAFFORD 2nd XV vs BURNTWOOD 2nd XV. 12th September 2015.

Stafford 48 – 17 Burntwood

Stafford welcomed Burntwood to the County Ground for the opening league fixture of the season.

Stafford Development squad started off well and the pressure on Burntwood forced a series of penalties. Tim Woolman put the first points on the board through a well-placed penalty kick. Gaz O’Connor was next to take advantage of the strong play, running across the line for an unconverted try. As Stafford maintained the pace, Matt Manion contributed to a sizeable lead with two tries following good running, Tim Woolman kicking both the conversions. Burntwood fought their way back into the fixture with a try to put points on the board for the visitors. However the final score of the half went to Stafford courtesy of Bruce McCulloch who stretched across the line from the base of the ruck. Stafford went into half time leading 27 – 7 and comfortably controlling the game.

A Mark Bisset try, converted by Tim Woolman, stretched the lead early in the second half. Burntwood again battled their way back into the game and two tries drew the scores back together. This galvanised Stafford and from then on the home side took control of the remainder of the half, tries from Steve Rowland and Cal Jones together with conversions by Tim Woolman and Cal Jones sealed an excellent win for the Development Team.