KENILWORTH SHOW GRIT BUT SUCCUMB TO LATE TRY FLOURISH

On a sunny October day Bournville travelled to Kenilworth, who were relegated from National League 3 last season and would pose another test to Bournville’s unbeaten record this season. Bournville were able to recall Dean Bick, Matt Dickerson and Iestyn Pratt to the starting line up with Hesy Fakatou returning on the bench. Nick Southern continued as captain in the absence of Paul Coles and Adam Coniff.

Bournville started the game well and immediately put pressure on the Kenilworth line. After some sustained pressure Kenilworth conceded a penalty which Alex Warner easily converted. When Kenilworth finally got their hands on the ball they showed why they have played at a higher level by pinning Bournville back in their own half. This was aided by the number of mistakes and penalties given away by Bournville, one penalty well converted by the Kenilworth fullback.

As the half progressed Bournville started to cut out the mistakes and worked that bit harder to secure clean ball for their potent backline. After a number of controlled phases and some good hands from the backs, Iestyn Pratt dived over in the corner for the first try of the match. At times Bournville could be their own worst enemy as straight after this try the referee awarded a kickable penalty for overly questioning one of his decisions. The penalty was readily converted by Kenilworth’s fullback. With the half drawing to a close Bournville mounted another attack. Robin Eatough again showed good footwork to slide effortlessly through the Kenilworth defence and score under the posts with Warner making the conversion to leave the half time score at 15-6.

The second half continued much like the first with Kenilworth defending stoutly and Bournville finding it hard to break through and increase their lead. Bournville were holding on to the ball better and as the Kenilworth tackles mounted up they started to give away penalties close to their line. After some constant pressure Matt Dickerson burrowed over the line from close range, the try converted by Alex Warner. After an exciting period of open play during which both sides missed potential opportunities to score the impasse was finally broken with a converted try courtesy of powerful replacement winger Dan Barratt following a Robin Eatough break. This left the score at 29-6 with the crucial 4 try bonus point now secured by the visiting side.

Bournville continued to pressurise Kenilworth especially up front. Just 5 minutes later after a clever lineout move and a dynamic driving maul Dean Bick went over for a classic ‘forward's’ try once again safely converted by Warner who was having another excellent day with the boot.

With the bonus point secured, and having established a healthy lead, Bournville seemed to ease up and allowed Kenilworth to apply pressure to the Bournville line. After a couple of penalties Kenilworth’s scrum-half nipped over the line from close range to score a converted try.

This reignited Bournville and they went straight down the other end to score through Hesy Fakatou. With the game drawing to a close Robin Eatough pounced on a loose Kenilworth pass to run in a converted try from the half way line and leave the final score 50-13.

After the match first team manager and Club vice-chairman Gary Conroy seemed to sum up perfectly the way the team was feeling, “It is always pleasing to win and to get 50 points but the lads seem frustrated at all the errors they made. We have come to expect a lot this year and it is good to see we want to keep these high standards every time we play.”

Next week Bournville welcome key promotion rivals Old Halesonians to the University. Over the years this fixture has been hotly contested with both teams winning their home fixture last season. Old Halesonians have made a good start to the season with 6 wins from 7 so this will be Bournville’s toughest match of the campaign to date.
  
Bournville line-up: 1. Rob Sigley, 2. Dean Bick, 3. Ian Coles, 4. Simon Homer, 5. Rob Griffin, 6. Matt Dickerson, 7. Adrian Maynard, 8. Nick Southern, 9. Rod Petty, 10. Alex Warner, 11. Chris Humphrey, 12. Paul Cox, 13. Robin Eatough, 14. Iestyn Pratt, 15. Alex Ward, 16. Phil Brown, 17. Hesy Fakatou, 18. Dan Barratt STAND OUT PLAYERS: Dean Bick & Alex Ward

Match report by Dicko. Match pics by Sully - click here. League table - click here.