Back
Sat 17 Sep 2016 · Midlands 4 East (South)
1st XVBedford Swifts
Tries: S Thornburn (Sponsored by Trevs Tyres) (4), J Berry (Sponsored by Ian Knight Stonework Brickwork) (2), D Sweeting, H Thornburn (Sponsored by Sion Williams PT)Conversions: J Berry (Sponsored by Ian Knight Stonework Brickwork) (6)Penalties: J Berry (Sponsored by Ian Knight Stonework Brickwork) (3)
53
0
Bourne continue to make steady progress......
Simon Perkins29 Sep 2016 - 02:23
Share via
After their hard fought win away to Thorney Bourne ensured they maintained their early season momentum winning their first home league game against Bedford Swifts
Despite such a good result the previous week Bourne were careful not to make any assumptions about the result having struggled against Swifts both home and away last season.
Conditions were good and the crowd was boosted by a number of the Senior Development Group (U17 Squad) invited along as part of the Club’s revitalised effort to develop the players of the future.
Due to injuries picked up the week previous Bourne had made a couple of changes in the squad but with real depth this year this did not lesson the potential of the side. Bourne received the ball from the kick off and immediately kicked up field to put the opposition on the back foot. Senior Captain Tom Dixon, relishing his new position in the back row, was first to the breakdown closely supported by his back row partners Xanti Xipu and veteran John Hume and between them they did enough to win the home side the put-in at the resulting scrum. Jason Rushton, Jake Appleby and Chris Wheeler the starting front row for the encounter gave a decent platform for the hosts which was further bolstered by the relatively new Danny Gill in the second row. After a good series of play when Bourne turned the pressure on fullback Jack Berry, on his return to the side, kicked an early penalty to put the Bourne ahead. A strong effort by the pack meant good set-pieces throughout the game which allowed scrumhalf Harry Thornburn sufficient time to give flyhalf Dave Maudsley plenty of good ball, which in turn meant the Bourne backs had ample time to attack.
Bourne played with real confidence and Maudsley soon found space for Sam Thornburn to break away and score under the posts, the conversion quickly added by Berry. The next score followed immediately when Maudsley opted to chip the pressing defence allowing Thornburn and wing Donald Sweeting the chance to pressure the Swifts fullback who couldn’t then gather the ball cleanly – with the luck of the bounce Thornburn gathered to score again under the posts with berry once again adding the extras.
For the next try Berry did all the work himself taking a kick from the Swifts flyhalf before a number of mesmerising side-steps left a number of defenders beaten and the fullback dotting down under the posts. With every minute Bourne’s confidence grew and with the forwards supplying steady ball and Maudsley bossing the back line with his distribution skills, fast ball along the line saw Sweeting running half the pitch before eventually getting caught. On hand however was Thornburn who rounded off the move to score again. Thornburn’s first half hat-trick took the home side to 31 – 0 at half-time.
Playing against the wind second half Bourne knew they had to be smart but it was clear that their ambitions were not hindered. Despite some resilience from Swifts Bourne soon had a scrum on their opponents 5m line and Harry Thornburn took the opportunity to score one of his own with a smart show-and-go from the base of the scrum.
Though they had plenty of ball the Bourne defence was also good when it needed to be and after turning the ball over it quickly found it’s way to Sweeting who went three quarters of the pitch to finish an opportunist try.
The Bourne backs soon had their opportunity again with Maudsley mixing up their points of attack manipulating the good form being shown by Berry and Thornburn – both crossed for an additional try each in the later stages of the game. With Sam Thornbur’s four tries and Jack Berry’s total of twenty-three points they shared the Man of the Match award.
Coach Maudsley was pleased with the result but alluded to his high expectations for the rest of the year, saying “that was another decent performance but we have plenty left in the locker. I’m obviously glad we’re winning and morale is high, but there’s going to be times when we have to dig deep and how react then will be a measure of good we really are”.
Maudsley has always maintained that training is the key to success and added “numbers at training have been really good and the lads are working hard; whilst we continue in this manner we’ll do well – the guys are getting to know the way each other plays and we’re able to practise more things as a side”.
For anyone interested in joining the team training takes place 7pm Wednesday evening and is open to anyone aged 17 or older. Bourne look to continue their winning streak against Ollerton in the RFU Cup, kicking off at home at 3pm this Saturday.
Conditions were good and the crowd was boosted by a number of the Senior Development Group (U17 Squad) invited along as part of the Club’s revitalised effort to develop the players of the future.
Due to injuries picked up the week previous Bourne had made a couple of changes in the squad but with real depth this year this did not lesson the potential of the side. Bourne received the ball from the kick off and immediately kicked up field to put the opposition on the back foot. Senior Captain Tom Dixon, relishing his new position in the back row, was first to the breakdown closely supported by his back row partners Xanti Xipu and veteran John Hume and between them they did enough to win the home side the put-in at the resulting scrum. Jason Rushton, Jake Appleby and Chris Wheeler the starting front row for the encounter gave a decent platform for the hosts which was further bolstered by the relatively new Danny Gill in the second row. After a good series of play when Bourne turned the pressure on fullback Jack Berry, on his return to the side, kicked an early penalty to put the Bourne ahead. A strong effort by the pack meant good set-pieces throughout the game which allowed scrumhalf Harry Thornburn sufficient time to give flyhalf Dave Maudsley plenty of good ball, which in turn meant the Bourne backs had ample time to attack.
Bourne played with real confidence and Maudsley soon found space for Sam Thornburn to break away and score under the posts, the conversion quickly added by Berry. The next score followed immediately when Maudsley opted to chip the pressing defence allowing Thornburn and wing Donald Sweeting the chance to pressure the Swifts fullback who couldn’t then gather the ball cleanly – with the luck of the bounce Thornburn gathered to score again under the posts with berry once again adding the extras.
For the next try Berry did all the work himself taking a kick from the Swifts flyhalf before a number of mesmerising side-steps left a number of defenders beaten and the fullback dotting down under the posts. With every minute Bourne’s confidence grew and with the forwards supplying steady ball and Maudsley bossing the back line with his distribution skills, fast ball along the line saw Sweeting running half the pitch before eventually getting caught. On hand however was Thornburn who rounded off the move to score again. Thornburn’s first half hat-trick took the home side to 31 – 0 at half-time.
Playing against the wind second half Bourne knew they had to be smart but it was clear that their ambitions were not hindered. Despite some resilience from Swifts Bourne soon had a scrum on their opponents 5m line and Harry Thornburn took the opportunity to score one of his own with a smart show-and-go from the base of the scrum.
Though they had plenty of ball the Bourne defence was also good when it needed to be and after turning the ball over it quickly found it’s way to Sweeting who went three quarters of the pitch to finish an opportunist try.
The Bourne backs soon had their opportunity again with Maudsley mixing up their points of attack manipulating the good form being shown by Berry and Thornburn – both crossed for an additional try each in the later stages of the game. With Sam Thornbur’s four tries and Jack Berry’s total of twenty-three points they shared the Man of the Match award.
Coach Maudsley was pleased with the result but alluded to his high expectations for the rest of the year, saying “that was another decent performance but we have plenty left in the locker. I’m obviously glad we’re winning and morale is high, but there’s going to be times when we have to dig deep and how react then will be a measure of good we really are”.
Maudsley has always maintained that training is the key to success and added “numbers at training have been really good and the lads are working hard; whilst we continue in this manner we’ll do well – the guys are getting to know the way each other plays and we’re able to practise more things as a side”.
For anyone interested in joining the team training takes place 7pm Wednesday evening and is open to anyone aged 17 or older. Bourne look to continue their winning streak against Ollerton in the RFU Cup, kicking off at home at 3pm this Saturday.
Further reading
Team Sponsors
