Burnage Rugby Club

If the draw away at LSH was a point lost, this was probably a point gained at Leigh. On a day when not everything clicked into gear, their defensive effort was huge.

Burnage, playing into the stiff breeze, started the stronger of the two sides. They got beyond the gain line in midfield before creating space on the left flank only for the final pass to fail to go to hand.

Leigh then fired a couple of warning shots of their own, winning two scrums against the head. This was to be a tough day for the set piece, but credit to the Burnage pack for sticking at their task. They thought on their feet, stuck together and improved during the course of the match, something which has been lacking in the past couple of weeks. Despite having the edge, Leigh never dominated enough to get away from Burnage.

Ralph Lawson, Nick Scholes and Stuart Oldham all won early turnovers before rucks were set, allowing them to counter attack quickly. This enabled Lawson and Jennings to break out down the left, handing on to Rick Keyworth who was hauled down ten yards short. The ball was quickly moved through the hands to the right flank and Matt Leyden squeezed over in the right corner for a score which he couldn’t convert. 0-5 Burnage.

Leigh then enjoyed some possession in the latter stages of the half and managed to generate quick ball at the breakdowns. As ever, they were well marshalled from scrum half and as Burnage overcommitted Leigh shifted the ball wide and found an overlap on the right hand side to level the scores at 5 apiece.

With the wind at their backs Burnage were well set to press for a win in the second period. A strong collective display from Leigh’s lineout and their left winger though ensured they had the better of the half. Without looking particularly threatening in possession, Leigh’s pick and drive game brought them a couple of penalties to establish field position, and their effective lineout enabled them to set up camp on the Burnage line. Jonny Scholes and Ralph Lawson both held up Leigh try scoring attempts whilst Jim Williams showed his terrier-like love of the shin-tackle time and time again. Eventually Leigh did manage to cross the line with one pick-and-drive too many, a score which was well converted for a 12-5 lead.

Burnage fought back strongly. Sharp handling by Nick Scholes and Matt Leyden put James Knight in for what seemed an inevitable try in the right corner, but a torn hamstring upon catching the ball curtailed the attack and Knight’s game as he was bundled into touch before being replaced by Kornecki on the wing. Burnage continued to press though and once the backs had gone beyond the gain line, Nick Scholes found himself at first receiver and deftly put Tony Lynn into space to charge over on the left and skirt round closer to the posts. Leyden converted the pressure kick to level the scores at 12-12.

Now generating quicker ball of their own, Burnage had one more opportunity to break out as they attacked down the left with plenty of support but an inside pass was fumbled. Leigh made a couple more breaks but couldn’t get the numbers in support to finish off. Burnage had weathered the worst and honours even at the final whistle is probably a fair reward for both sides who had put so much into the game.