Maudsley proud of his side's efforts in league loss at Leicester Forest

Bourne's run of tough fixtures in their Midlands 3 campaign continued as they travelled to second place Leicester Forest at the weekend.

Playing on Forest's artificial pitch Bourne were expecting a high-paced encounter and the hosts certainly delivered. From the start Forest utilised their big ball runners and made hard yards through the middle of the pitch and Bourne were forced into an early display of desperate defence.

With all the early possession Forest looked worthy of opening the scoring but it seemed desperately unfair that they did so after a handling error in their midfield went unnoticed by the referee and they crossed to score a short while later.

From the restart Bourne settled into the game and sent a clear message that they weren't there to simply make up the numbers. After some decent phases they were awarded a penalty and scrumhalf Sam Evison (sponsored by Moon & Evison Ltd) got Bourne off the mark.

Once again Forest enjoyed a large share of the possession and having worked their way through a number of phases they then kicked to the Bourne corner. Fullback Jamie Colangelo, making his debut for Bourne, did well to get to the ball first but was forced to touch down behind his try line. From the resulting scrum Forest created a simple overlap on the blindside and crossed for a second try. With the conversion added the home side were now 12 - 3 up.

Despite being at something of a disadvantage in terms of size the Bourne pack put in another solid display at the set-piece and throughout the first half they limited their opponent’s powerful ball carrying with an equally powerful defensive display. Prop Iain Taylor, making a rare appearance after surgery last year, had no problem fitting back into the mould and lock Sam Harby (sponsored by Ian Knight Stonework Brickwork), Man of the Match, put in a fantastic performance in both defence and attack. Bourne's rearranged backline saw them field no genuine centres with regular fullback Jack Berry (sponsored by Ian Knight Stonework Brickwork) and wing Josh Lynch (sponsored by Dave Maudsley) filling in. Despite the new-look backline Bourne looked happy with the ball in hand when they had the chances and although wings Rob Bentley (sponsored by Kruger Equestrian) and Jack Fitch made good yards out wide they were well marshalled by their opposite men.

With both sides adding another penalty the half finished with Forest 15 - 6 up and clearly frustrated by Bourne's competitive display.

Forest came out fighting in the second half and quickly put pressure on their guests. For the opening ten minutes of the half Bourne defended their try-line furiously and it was a tribute to their discipline that they did so without giving away a string of penalties. But eventually the pressure was too much and after a number of short drives Forest forced their way over. With the extras added Bourne were now 22 - 6 down.

Bourne didn't appear phased by the increased scoreline and finally found some rhythm. Solid in defence and with growing control in attack it seemed that Bourne would eventually get a try of their own. Unfortunately though, luck went against the visitors once again; having built a number of phases Bourne seemed to be making inroads as they worked their way out of their own twenty-two, stretching the Forest defence as they did so. But in the midst of their extensive attacking phase Berry threw a loose pass which bounced in the path of the Forest winger who darted in to score under the posts.

At 29 - 6 down, and with twenty minutes left, Bourne could easily have capitulated at this point and it was to their credit that for the final quarter they seemed the better of the two sides. With a renewed energy they started to play their rugby at a pace their hosts could barely cope with. Clearly annoyed by Bourne's efforts Forest lost their discipline and the game became disjointed. It was the Forest captain that eventually let his side down as he was sin-binned for striking Bourne hooker Harry Thornburn (sponsored by Sion Williams PT), undoubtedly lucky he wasn't given a red card.

Bourne, with nothing to lose, threw everything they had at their hosts in the closing stages of the game but were made to suffer once again when they conceded a final try in the dying stages. Although in some respects a far better scoreline than many would have anticipated, Bourne finished the day feeling the result in fact flattered the highly rated Forest side.

Coach Maudsley said: "Forest were a good side - they had some very powerful runners all over the park and it took everything we had to keep them from running away with the game. But they didn't run away with it and, if anything, they were lucky with a number of their tries. It's tough playing away again and being up against one of the league's top sides but we can be proud of our efforts and take plenty of positives from the game."

Maudsley added "We were unlucky with the way the fixtures fell but if nothing else we're getting our toughest games out of the way early. We have to recognise that we're putting in some decent displays, we're competing with the sides in this league and we have to believe that we can turn things round later in the season when the fixtures suit us better."

Bourne are set for another tough fixture when they return to league action on December 1st - although at home they will be up against league leaders Northampton Casuals.