Disappointment for the 1st XV in last minute loss against St Neots

Despite their second heart-break in just a week Bourne continue to reflect on what has been a season to remember. Having finished runners-up in the Midlands Vase last weekend there were question marks over how they would bounce back, but their performance against table-toppers St Neots this weekend shows just how good and resolute a side they have become.

Having convincingly beaten the league leaders at home back in December, Bourne had already shown they could better St Neots, but with the fixture another tough one in a recent string it remained to be seen if they had it in them to repeat the feat away from home.

From the kick-off Bourne's attention was immediately drawn to St Neots' huge set of forwards who looked to simply run over Bourne's much smaller counterparts. Struggling to deal with the sheer size of their opponents Bourne found themselves being driven backwards with little opportunity to mount a proper defence.

For the opening ten minutes St Neots battered away persistently at the Bourne try-line and only some desperate last ditch tackling kept the home side out. Eventually the pressure told and having sucked a large number of the Bourne defence, both forwards and backs, to one side of the pitch, St Neots shipped the ball to the other side and crossed relatively untroubled. The hosts didn't seem phased by missing the conversion and appeared to sense an easy victory.

In times gone by Bourne might also have sensed they were heading for a loss, but this is a group of players that have come a long way and after so many well-earned results they have a belief in themselves that they thoroughly deserve. From the restart Bourne took control of the game and their own style of play quickly proved too much for the St Neots weightier pack - moving the ball round quickly and effectively the St Neots forwards began to tire and Bourne were then able to make decent progress. A string of purposeful phases were only drawn to an end when St Neots were deemed to have interjected unfairly and Sam Evison notched his first kick of the day taking Bourne just two behind.

Bourne seemed to be adapting well by this point and despite a barrage of ball carrying by the St Neots pack they were proving solid in defence. The Bourne pack weren't phased by the size of the St Neots side at the set-piece and held their own at the scrum; in open play they doubled-up with their tackling and were smart at the breakdown. It was testament to the visitors that despite dominating both possession and territory St Neots eventually opted to kick a penalty for goal rather than go for more.

Once again, though, Bourne lifted their game from the restart and with the St Neots pack tiring with every minute they were forced to try and keep up with their guests in open play, Bourne started to look the much better side. Being the more dynamic side Bourne were able to shift their attack using both the forwards and backs but it was the backs who seized the first opportunity to score and wing Rob Bentley finished a well worked try to continue his rich vein of form. A long way out Evison couldn't add the extras but Bourne were pleased to reach half-time with the honours even.

Bourne's belief they could win seemed entirely justified as they enjoyed the spoils for much of the second half. The pack seemed buoyed by the introduction of the hard-hitting Dan Smith in the back row and after a prolonged absence centre Matt Holden made a huge impact upon his return. Josh Lynch, one of Bourne's key players in the first half, continued to cause St Neots all sorts of problems as they seemed incapable of dealing with him. Not surprisingly, after a decent build-up by the Bourne pack and some slick handling by the back line, it was Lynch who crossed to take his side in front. Evison added a difficult conversion and Bourne had a lead of a converted try.

Much of the remainder of the second half was then an evenly matched contest with the only additional points being a penalty from St Neots taking them to 11 - 15 down. St Neots, though, looked to finish strongly and were hindered by a number of mistakes forced upon them by the determined Bourne defence. With just two minutes left Bourne looked to have seen out the game as they countered at a ruck on their own five metre line and won a penalty. A decent kick from fullback Jack Berry took Bourne to their ten metre line with the throw to their own lineout. Sadly the lineout was lost and St Neots staged one last attack which, against the grain, saw them cross to go just one point in front with the last play of the game. Despite appeals by Bourne for a number of apparent infringements during the build-up, the try was awarded and with it Bourne's fate sealed.

Player-coach Dave Maudsley looked to focus on the positives after the game: "The lads are understandably disappointed; St Neots might well disagree but I thought we deserved the win and it's hard to take. But the reality is that in a close game one bad bounce of the ball, one mistake by one of us or one decision we don't like by a referee can change the outcome. We've come away to the league leaders and bettered them right to the final minute and that's something the lads should be proud of.”

Captain Tom Dixon, in fantastic form again, added: "After a tough ten minutes we out-thought and out-played the best side in the league for large parts of the game, right up until the final play. We're showing time and time again that we can cope with the league above. Although the result was disappointing it's a massive indicator of how far we've come and what we're capable of in the future."

Maudsley went on to say: "That was a huge shift by a number of the lads and bodes well for next season. Looking back just as far as last year I think that would have been a game we'd have written off before we got here, or certainly after the opening ten minutes, but the way the lads responded today and the way in which they both attacked and defended is a huge credit to them.”

Bourne: Appleby, H Thornburn, Greenwood, Harby, Cooke, Williams, Binns, Dixon, Evison, Castle, Lynch, Maudsley, S Thornburn, Bentley, Berry, Brown, Wheeler, Smith, Charlton, Holden.