Stunning comeback from Bourne in game of two halves

Following a defeat to North Hykeham 2nds and a bizarre nil-nil draw against Market Rasen 3rds, Bourne looked to get back to winning ways against a Gainsborough side who are generally strong at home. The South Lincolnshire men travelled with a strong contingent, including two front rows.

With the sun shining and the pitch in fine condition, Bourne looked forward to unleashing their youthful side on their hosts. Gainsborough had other ideas however, and a strong drive led to them opening the scoring in the corner. Things got worse for Bourne 5 minutes later as the home side doubled their lead.

Bourne came back strongly, and a series of flowing moves were let down only by the final pass. The large Gainsborough pack were proving difficult to move however, and the North Lincolnshire side extended their lead further to go in 15-0 to the good at half time.

Needing to spark a serious revival, skipper Hume took the decision to replace the front row, with the behemoths Cuffe, Sleight and Coupland taking to the field. This proved to be a turning point, as Bourne began to dominate in the scrums. Frustrated by this change in fortune, the Gainsborough flanker took matters into his own hands at a breakdown and was rewarded with 10 minutes on the side lines.

Bourne used the man advantage to good effect. Taking time out from writing soppy statuses on Facebook, Binns ignited the revival by scoring in the corner, with Dixon, still suffering from an ankle niggle after his shank against Boston, failing to convert. It was end to end stuff which delighted a full house, and the away fans were enraptured when skipper Hume broke blind from a scrum in Gainsborough’s 22 to score Bourne’s second try.

Not for nothing is Matthew Cuffe known as ‘The Osteopath’ in Bourne, and a bone-jarring tackle on the Gainsborough outside centre a few minutes later led to the prop gathering the ball to score. Bourne were rampant now, and Lewis powered through a number of tackles before touching down, only for the referee to disallow the score for a foot in touch. Cuffe was not to be denied his second though, charging through to score moments later.

Having gained a slender lead the visitors did not want to throw things away, and skipper Hume extended the advantage following a 15 metre burst to score under the posts. The prolific Binns, who has scored 10 tries now in his last 10 games, added his second conversion of the day to move Bourne out to a 2 score advantage. In a dramatic finale Gainsborough threw everything at Bourne, but the away side’s defence was resolute, and a knock on from the home side’s winger left the official to bring the game to a close.

This was a fantastic comeback win for Bourne against a strong side, and skipper Hume thanked the whole side for their hard work and belief in getting a win plus full bonus points. Bourne face Skegness 2nds at home this weekend, kick off 2.30pm.

Bourne RUFC: Xanti Xipu; Mick Bennett, Richard Chappell, Berry, Adam Binns; Tom Dixon, Toby Lewis; Simon Pick, Donk Hill, Dave Lunn, Olly Sadler, John Adams, John Hume, Andy Sims, Mark Bills. Repl.: Matthew Cuffe, Rob Coupland, Simon Sleight, Neil Oglesbee, John Motton.