Bourne started their 2018/19 campaign with a midweek pre-season friendly away to Kesteven. Having secured promotion to Midlands 3 South-East the trip was destined to be a good test of the club's ability to cope at the next level up with Kesteven already being in Midlands 3, albeit the North-East strand of the league.

The opening minutes were tentative from both sides but it was clear that Bourne weren't phased by their opposition who despite missing a couple of players fielded a strong side. Bourne, looking fit and energetic, enjoyed a large amount of possession in the opening stages and put considerable pressure on their hosts. On the occasions they lost the ball they were quick to get it back and made serious inroads moving forward. Having shipped the ball to both sides of the pitch Bourne's momentum eventually stretched the Kesteven defence too far and after a sharp break in the midfield hooker Harry Thornburn fed the ball onto wing JJ Roberts who beat two defenders to finish neatly under the posts. Prolific kicker Sam Evison eased his way into the season with the conversion.

Bourne looked rampant in the early stages of the game with a real display of power from their pack who dominated the set-pieces and bettered their opponents at the breakdown.

Playing four quarters Bourne continued to dominate the first twenty minutes and at the first break they led 7 - 0. Having travelled with a large squad coach Dave Maudsley made a couple of changes to the side but they continued to look comfortable during the second quarter. Kesteven began to enjoy more possession but Bourne's defence was resolute and continued to repel the home side back. With this increased possession, though, came better territory and Kesteven started to mount the pressure on their guests. Bourne's captain, back-row Tom Dixon, made a rare mistake as he bought a dummy from the Kesteven scrumhalf at the side of a breakdown who then coasted in from ten metres out untroubled. Kesteven added the conversion from under the posts in the final moments of the half and the game was nicely poised at 7 - 7.

With almost thirty players available Maudsley made a raft of changes at the start of the second half. Although the set-piece suffered with new personnel and combinations that hadn't been practised prior to the game, Bourne looked happy in open play. Kesteven, fielding a much smaller squad, made fewer changes, though, and found they were able to build some continuity. For many of the Bourne lads on the pitch this third quarter was their first taste of the season whereas the Kesteven side now had a solid forty minutes under their belts. Not surprisingly the home side eventually sneaked in front when captain Gavin Purivs crashed over after his pack forced their way up field. With the conversion added Purvis had taken his side to 14 - 7 as the penultimate quarter drew to a close. A few minor injury worries forced Manager Paul Mambey to hastily rearrange the Bourne line-up at the interval but the visitors remained confident they were still in the hunt for their first victory of the season.

Kesteven quickly continued their form of the previous twenty minutes and soon added another five points. This time, having used the pack to once again crash their way up-field, the Kesteven backs shipped the ball wide before a decent finish in the corner. Unable to add the extras Kesteven had stretched to a twelve point lead with a little over ten minutes left.

The final quarter saw Bourne's new recruit Chris Warnes, after a thirteen year lay-off, take the reigns at fly-half, an opportunity he used to prove the pre-season hype about his arrival was fully justified. Although somewhat rusty Warnes seemed capable of breaking the line at will and Bourne immediately benefitted from his input. Beating his opposite man on the outisde, Warnes cruised towards Kesteven's fullback before a well-timed pass to replacement centre Cameron Paterson; as Kesteven's last man chased down Paterson he threw a long pass to winger Jack Fitch who showed dazzling pace over twenty yards to cross the tryline and finish under the posts. With Evison adding another two pointer from under the sticks Bourne were now just 19 - 14 down.

With a fairly scratch side finishing the game Bourne had lost structure, but with a decent level of fitness and plenty of individual talent they had lost nothing in terms of their ability to attack and they continued to defend with utter desperation. The last ten minutes of the game were frantic for both sides but it was Bourne who seized their opportunity to close the game out. With the ball being flung about in open play wing Fitch, just seventeen, stole the show with his electric pace as he blazed in from the halfway line rounding two Kesteven defenders on the way. Finishing in the corner Fitch's second try had taken the game to 19 - all but with the impressive Evison slotting the kick Bourne went into the final minutes in front. More desperate defending was required but as they had all night Bourne continued to front up and were well worthy of their first win of the season.

Man of the Match George Lindley was quick to praise the effort put in by his team-mates during the summer, "The lads have worked really hard at pre-season and we're fitter and better prepared than we have been in previous years. It's great to get a win under our belts but there's a long way to go yet!"

Club Chairman Ted Thornburn was delighted after the game, "It's a great start to the season and justification that we will be able to cope with life in Midlands 3. I'm particularly pleased with the strength-in-depth - we're keen to put out two competitive sides as often as possible and the twenty-seven guys that played tonight have taken us a step closer to making that a reality."

Maudsley was also pleased with his side's efforts, "It's fantastic to get off to such a good start and so many good players being available is a huge step in the right direction for the club. Our performance wasn't perfect but at this stage it's simply about getting back into the swing of things and we can now go away and continue to improve." On his squad's strength-in-depth Maudsley added: "It's something of a headache but I'd rather that than struggling for a side. Hopefully we can get the seconds squad up and running properly which amongst other things will create competition for places - from there it'll be a case of careful selection and rotation where possible."