Bournville produced one of its best performances of the season so far to progress into the semi-finals of the North Midlands cup at the expense of current cup holders Luctonians. In terrible conditions, Rob Sigley’s men claimed the biggest scalp in the club’s history in beating the Herefordshire side.

Without star backs Adam Coniff and Carl Colvin, Bournville was expecting a torrid afternoon against their National League opponents, but it became clear in the early exchanges that they were able to cope with the physicality of their opposition. Playing into a strong breeze in the first half, the Bournville pack frustrated their opposition with a series of ferocious tackles and some excellent work at the set-piece, with Rob Griffin excelling in the line out.

Despite benefiting from the conditions, Luctonians rarely threatened as Bournville defended stoically. The back three of Alex Warner, Chris Humphrey and Iestyn Pratt were able to comfortably deal with any kicking threat offered from the opposition and loose forwards Tom McIntosh and Adam Cristol closed down any space in the midfield to leave Luctonians frustrated. The hosts did take the lead on 15 minutes through a penalty but the score remained 3-0 until half-time.

After the break, it was Bournville’s turn to play with the wind at their backs and thanks to some superb kicking from Alex Warner, they were able to keep Luctonians camped in their own 22 for much of the second half. Bournville took the lead after 20 minutes when Rob Sigley powered over from close range following outstanding work from all eight of the forward pack. Despite the awful conditions, Warner made no mistake with the conversion making the score 3-7.

Despite some periods of Luctonians pressure, it was Sigley’s men who looked the more likely to score as the game drew to a close. A series of line outs close to the Luctonians line might have put the result beyond doubt but the home side showed why they are flying high in National League Three (Midlands) with some heroic defence. With 10 minutes to go Warner had a chance to extend the lead with a penalty goal but his effort drifted just wide. In the dying minutes, Luctonians tried in vain to find a breakthrough and the Bournville players were rewarded for their efforts when the final whistle sounded.

After the game, a delighted Director of Rugby Rob Sigley commented, “The performance from the players today was one of the best in my time involved with the club. We adapted well to the conditions and showed that we can compete with teams from the league above. We need to take the determination we showed today into every one of our performances for the rest of the season.”

Next week, Bournville return to league action against Sutton Coldfield. Sutton are currently 4th in Midlands One and will be a strong test for Bournville as the Christmas break approaches.

Bournville line-up:
1. Paul Coles, 2. Dean Bick, 3. Ian Coles, 4. Nick Southern, 5. Rob Griffin, 6. Adam Cristol, 7. Tom McIntosh (c), 8. Matt Dickerson, 9. Robbie Harlow, 10. Alex Warner, 11. Iestyn Pratt, 12. Fou, 13. Jon Ball, 14. Chris Humphrey, 15. Alex Ward, 16. Rob Sigley, 17. Steve Smith, 18. Rhydian Smith. Stand-out player: Nick Southern

Report by Iestyn Pratt.