Both sides cast off the cloak of winter gloom to produce a game of quality and high intensity. Neither team had played since mid December but this lack of rugby was not evident as this crackerjack of a game progressed.
Aspatria started with yet another new half back pairing; Jack Clegg returned to the scrum half berth to partner Kristian Borthwick in his first outing at No 10. The Black Reds also gave a debut on the wing to Steve Moss. Moss is an experienced player who has been out of the local game this year as he pursues his university studies.
Burnage started on fire and immediately took the game to Aspatria; an early score looked inevitable as the Black Red defence was hammered from every side. The defence was magnificent with each and every player putting in heavy tackles. Newcomer, Moss impressed early with a crushing double tackle when he was the last line of defence and it was he who would lead the breakout. On 10 minutes, Burnage attempted a speculative kick over the Aspatria defence; Moss fielded the ball in his own 22 and began a mazy run that ended well into home territory. This was the first of several impressive darts by Moss.
After the initial fury of the Burnage offensive the game began to level out. Stoddart consistently pegged back the home side with a series of strong clearing kicks out of defence and it was he who had Aspatria’s first chance for points after 15 minutes. Unfortunately, his 35 meter penalty attempt faded wide.
The Burnage back line were a constant threat sparked by live wire scrum half, Jonny Scholes. On 20 minutes, Scholes showed his class. From an attack on the Aspatria 22, he beat an on rushing defence to open up the line and off load to full back, Mike Filson who charged over to score. Filson converted the try with his only successful kick of the day.
Aspatria responded well and engineered several good plays as the half petered out. The Clegg/Borthwick partnership was operating well and centres Steven Douglas and Heinie Jonker troubled the home defence. There was ample evidence that a half time deficit of 7 points could be over turned.
The second period started much as the first with Burnage pressing hard. Within 8 minutes of the restart they had crossed the Aspatria line twice in the form of centre, Adam Blaney and scrum half, Scholes to increase the lead to 17:0. Aspatria might have been aggrieved by at least one of the scores, which seemed to be the result of a refereeing error. This set back earlier in the season might have signalled an avalanche of points but not this day. Perhaps it was the injustice of the situation that spurred the Black Reds on. It was now all Aspatria. The visiting pack controlled possession for long periods and this was the cornerstone for a try on 20 minutes. After 10 phases of recycled ball, the forwards trundled to the Burnage line. A penalty was awarded and quick thinking Jonker simply tapped and placed the ball over the home line. Stoddart converted to give Aspatria hope.
Aspatria continued to work hard against a stubborn defence and might have got deserved reward on 26 minutes. Moss set off on a run that looked likely to end in a score but was ended by some over desperate defence giving Stoddart a routine penalty kick for 3 points. Again the ball faded wide and with it perhaps Aspatria’s last opportunity to get something from the game.
As the minutes ticked by, Burnage would finish the stronger of the two sides. Aspatria were chasing the game and gaps were opening up as a result for Burnage to exploit. The home side should have scored on 30 minutes but the ball was mishandled with the line at their mercy. Some reward did come Burnage’s way with the very last move of the game when Filson went over in the corner to produce a final score of 22:7.
After the game, Coach Richardson pronounced himself satisfied with the performance. Aspatria face improbable odds to escape from relegation but now know they can finish a hard campaign with pride intact.
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