COLES SAVES BOURNVILLE BLUSHES

After over a month off, Bournville returned to action with a narrow victory over Leamington on Saturday to consolidate their position in second place.

The game started well for Rob Sigley’s men, with the side enjoying some early pressure in the Leamington twenty-two. The driving line out was functioning well but some unforced errors continually stopped Bournville from crossing the whitewash. Their pressure was rewarded on 20 minutes when fly-half Alex Warner calmly slotted a penalty to give Bournville a 3-0 lead.

Despite being under pressure for most of the half, it was the home side who scored the first try of the match. A chip and chase from their fly-half lead to the referee awarding a penalty try and sin binning Bournville winger Iestyn Pratt just before half-time, despite minimal contact and the presence of two other Bournville players. The simple conversion in front of the posts gave Leamington a 7-3 lead at the break.

Buoyed by their success, Leamington started the second half brightly. A clever cross-field kick saw them take advantage of Bournville’s missing player to score in the corner and take a 12-3 lead.

With their backs against the wall, Bournville desperately fought to claw their way back into the game. Warner narrowed the deficit with another penalty but the visitors were unable to gain any real momentum due to Leamingtons swarming defence and disruptive play at the breakdown.

With 15 minutes to go, Bournville finally broke the Leamington resistance. Winger Iestyn Pratt broke away from two Leamington defenders and offloaded for number eight Nick Southern to score. However, Warner’s missed conversion still left Bournville behind at 12-11. Leaminton restored their advantage 5 minutes later when another chip and chase from close range was rewarded with a try. However, the missed conversion kept Bournville in the game at 17-11.

From the restart, Bournville pressurised Leamington in every area of the park. Two consecutive Leamington scrums were won against the head by the impressive Bournville front row of powerhouse Ian Coles, Dean Bick and Paul Coles which gave Bournville excellent field position.

Bournville were camped on the Leamington line and, in the dying seconds, prop Ian Coles managed to force his way over from close range despite the attentions of 6 Leamington players to put Bournville within a point of their hosts. Up stepped Alex Warner, who showed his usual poise and confidence to add the conversion and give Bournville a 17-18 victory.

After the game, Bournville’s try-scoring hero Ian Coles commented, “It’s not the first match-winning try that I’ve scored for Bournville and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Hopefully we’ll produce a better team performance next week so I don’t have to get us out of trouble again. I’m delighted with the win and it’s made much sweeter knowing that it’s all down to me.”

Next week, Bournville welcome Nuneaton Old Edwardians to Rowheath. Kick-off is at 2:15pm.

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