BURFC V Old Brentwoods 02/10/2016 - UNDER 11S – FIRST MATCH TOGETHER!
Team - Kaine Sturman Conner Moss, Lewis Reed, Thomas Garlick, Elliot George. Carter Sheers, Reggie Down
Today was the Burnham under 11’s first outing as a fully-fledged team and nerves were showing a little. Connor Moss stepped up to the challenge of being Burnham Under 11’s first captain for the duration of the morning, As this was Burnham’s first match of the season and with new players Kaine Sturman, Thomas Garlick and Elliot George is was agreed to play three shorter matches to ensure the teams could break and discuss their progress.
First match kicked off with Old Brentwoods having Burnham on the back foot for most of the first half, which eventually awarded them with a try. Burnham managed to get some good tackles in and all the new starters got stuck into the flow of play. After a quick regroup Burnham came back fighting with a great flurry of passing allowing Burnham’s Carter Sheers to make a half way line sprint to take the equalizing try. Both teams were well matched and not much ground was taken, Old Brentwood made a last ditch effort to break and was rewarded with a great running try. Final Score Old Brentwoods 10 BURFC 5.
Second match started off slow for Burnham, due to the greater match experience The Old Brentwood’s had the upper hand when the ball went to ground and was frequently turning over the ball in Ruck situations. However with some really strong defending and tackling from Kaine Sturman, Connor Moss and Reggie Down Burnham where able to keep The Old Brentwood’s back, only conceded one try. Second half saw Burnham growing in confidence, great position work from Lewis Reed allowed him to push through the Old Brentwoods line for a try. The remaining time saw the two teams evenly matched, and an amazing break from Connor Moss almost saw another Burnham try but was denied by an unlucky push into touch. The final seconds of the game saw Burnham just losing their form allowing Old Brentwoods to sneak through the lines with some great Teamwork for a try. Final Score Old Brentwoods 10 BURFC 5
Third match really saw Burnham’s under 11’s pulling together as a team, all players kept their positions and really took to hard tackling and passes out to the wings. Some great tackling and passing from newbies Elliot George and Thomas Garlick kept the pressure on, putting The Old Brentwoods on the defensive. Connor Moss again stepped up after receiving a quick pass won from a dropped ball and steam down the touch line for a fantastic sprinting try. Second half saw Brentwood coming out strong and pushing Burnham back to manage an early try, Burnham kept their heads up and dug deep but the more experienced Old Brentwoods managed to keep pushing with great ruck and maul technique to again win them a try in the lasts seconds of the match. Final Score Old Brentwoods 10 BURFC 5.

report by S Sheers