On a day on which the drizzle came down throughout, handling was tricky and Bourne began with a precise gameplan, laid out with scientific precision by co-captains Oglesbee and Burgin.
Fielding a side with a blend of youth, experience and questionable morality, Bourne made a strong start – solid in defence and absorbing all Sleaford had to throw at them. Bourne’s centre partnership of Dixons and Lynch were punching holes in the Sleaford defence, and Bourne’s pressure resulted in a long period camped in the opposition third. The conditions led to a number of handling errors, but Bourne’s dominance in the scrum resulted in good ball for Charlton, who was able to set his back line running. On a number of occasions Bourne were inches away from opening the scoring but were let down by a lack of precision in retaining the ball. Spirits remained high though with the effervescent Oglesbee cajoling and exhorting his pack to greater efforts.
On 22 minutes the Bourne pressure finally told – another solid effort at scrum time in the Sleaford 22 led to ball squirting out of the back, and Charlton was upon it like a ravenous hound with a string of Sandall’s sausages (other sausages are available and can be purchased from other fine purveyors of Lincolnshire meats in Bourne). He scampered 15 yards to score under the posts, leaving Burgin to sneak the conversion over.
On the occasions that Sleaford threatened the Bourne half the Bourne defence remained resolute, with the back row of Nassau, Smith and Thomas to the fore. As half time loomed, Bourne sought to reflect their territorial advantage on the scoreboard, and a lineout just outside the Sleaford 22 gave them a good platform. Some great running lines from Lynch and Dixon produced a hole outside the centres for Burgin to slide into, and the fly half showed some snake-hipped movement reminiscent of a youthful Len Goodman to accelerate into the 22, outpace the cover defence and go over for his first try in 3 seasons.
The second half began with Sleaford resurgent, and Bourne’s 12 point lead began to look a little fragile. Bourne began to press again however, and another mazy run from Lynch saw Bourne in the Sleaford 22. Strong competition at a ruck from the visitors enabled them to kick downfield, and a chaotic period of play saw them reduce the lead to 7 with a try in the corner.
The hosts were not fazed by this setback however, and continued to take the game to Sleaford – time after time good build up work into the visitor’s 22 ended with the final pass going to round or the ball being turned over. Faulkner at full back repeatedly returned the ball with interest when clearance kicks came his way, and the front five’s tackling meant Sleaford could not escape the shackles. On 68 minutes Bourne’s hard-working pack sucked in much of the Sleaford defence, allowing Burgin to put in the loitering Knight for a 5m run in to the line.
The icing was put on the cake for Bourne 10 minutes later as Faversham muscled his way from close range to cap a hard-fought victory for the Porters. With the capacity crowd baying for a final flourish, he proceeded to attempt to convert his own score, an effort which incredibly was even worse than Burgin’s previous two.
All in all a good first victory for Bourne’s second string and a great foundation for this season’s Merit League campaign.