Confidence in the team was good though after an impressive away victory at Cresswell and the weather conditions could also help the homes side’s chances.

East Retford kicked off and a good call and catch from Faversham to secure the ball , set up some early possession, Cooke and Payne both took the ball forward manoeuvring the team up field then the backs were released pushing into the oppositions half through runs from Dixon and Bonham. When the ball got held up a scrum was called and Bourne were shown straight away that the majority of pressure was going to be through the pack today, despite the huge efforts of Wood, Appleby and Sleight the well drilled scrum of East Retford won the ball and finally had some possession of their own. Great work from Brown and Payne turned over the ball 10m from the line, but the attempted clearance kick was charged down and East Retford scored in the corner. 0-5

Bourne picked themselves up and from the kick off a good chase from Payne and Hume put pressure on the opposition, good clean ball was won and Brown charged forward passing on to Berry who released Xipu to have a run down the wing, he was forced into touch some 10m out. East Retford won the lineout but good pressure from Payne and Faversham led to an attempted clearance kick which went nowhere. It was now a Bourne throw, a pin point accurate throw from Sleight to Appleby at the back of the line gave quick ball off the top, Dixon fed Binns with Bonham running the decoy and then to Bentley, he took the ball into contact but Binns was on hand to take the off load and score under the posts, which he converted. 7-5.

East Retford gained a penalty after the restart , with Bourne being judged off their feet in the ruck that had formed, Retford went for goal but came up short, Berry collected the ball and cleared up field with a kick of some 50m to make touch. The lineout was again working well as a unit and Hume rose to cause problems for the opposition, almost stealing the ball, the practice in training was paying off. A scrum on halfway to Bourne was picked cup at the base by Brown and driven forward he off loaded to Dixon and the ball went through Bonham and Binns in the centres to create space for Bentley to score in the corner. 12-5.

Although struggling at scrum time around the park the forwards were making a nuisance of themselves with Payne as ever niggling the opposition, Xipu picked up the loose ball from one of these disruptions and took off down the wing, he kicked ahead and chased along with Dixon who collected the ball and ran towards the posts, Dixon thought he had scored as he touched the post with the ball, but the referees view from halfway was better and a 5m scrum was awarded. Although under pressure Appleby managed to hook the ball which Thornburn took on his own Hume was in support and scored out wide , 17-5. The remainder of the half saw Bourne defend against the opposition as a team to maintain the lead at half time.

East Retford were always going to come back stronger in the 2nd half through their forwards and did just that, Bourne had a double blow losing Brown to injury as he had made a major contribution in the first half and Hume to a Yellow card, awarded due to too many infringements in the defensive effort. A further Yellow card was issued to Thornburn when he held someone back and with 15 against 13 Retford ran in 2 tries, one of which was converted. 17-17.

Bourne now had Hume back on the park but Retford now had their heads up and continued to exert pressure through their forwards, Faversham was also off now due to injury and his loss of size was not helping the Bourne cause. Despite a huge effort by the whole team and being back to a full contingent forwards pressure resulted in another try in the corner, 17-22
Both teams were then given more space when handbags ensued with Nassau being given his marching orders along with his opposite number. East Retford did finally get a score through their back line due to some missed tackles which resulted in a score in the corner with 10 minutes remaining 17-27.

Bourne did not drop their heads and good pressure resulted in a penalty just inside the opposition half, Binns stepped up for an ambitious kick which dropped just short, the clearance kicked failed to reach touch and was fielded by Bentley who made a good run down his wing, Brown was back on the field now and Thornburn found him running a great line to be stopped just short, although driven back Bourne retained the ball with Berry dancing his way forwards creating space for Bonham who scored out wide. 22-27. Bourne again were on the attack for the remaining minutes but unfortunately were unable to score.
Final score 22-27.

Coaches Quote: - The 3 Yellow cards cost us dearly!

Man of the match: - Jordan Payne