HEAD Coach Alex Grove praised his Bournville side for a producing a streetwise performance which secured a 15-14 victory at Lutterworth in Regional One Midlands.
Miserable weather consisting of heavy rain, numbing cold and a strong downfield wind, meant that Bourns had to adapt their preferred fast and open game to the conditions.
But they did so successfully to become the first visiting side to beat Lutterworth at Ashby Lane in a league match since March 2024.
Bournville had to defend determinedly for long periods, particularly in the second-half when they had to play into the wind, before they made the most of a rare attacking opportunity when fly-half Jacob Fewtrell crossed for the winning try 14 minutes from time.
“It was a day where territory was more important than possession. We were 10-0 up in the first half and spent a lot of time in their 22 and possibly should have had more points to show for that territory,” Grove said.
“Flip that and in what felt like very little time at the start of the second-half we were 14-10 down and we were scratching our heads as to how to get out of our half because the wind was so strong.
“The one entry we had into the opposition 22 we scored. The build up to Fewts’ try was brilliant.
“We identified where the space was just in behind their defence, we put the ball there with a smart chip. We know what Nathan Decalmer is like in the air, he did exceptionally well to regain that, and in the final phase before Fewts scored Josh Bloomfield made inroads into their 22.
“Our discipline in defence was particularly good. When you defend for that long – 35 of the 40 minutes in the second half we defended, or that is what it felt like – but we gave away very few penalties. Normally, that amount of possession will convert into penalties, which will convert into territory, which, given they had quite a good drive, will convert into points.
“We recognised that we couldn’t give any high tackle penalties or any creeping offside. There is always that tendency to get off the line and make a big tackle, and in doing so, you run the risk of being offside, which are really sloppy penalties to give away.
“It’s something we talked about before the game, and again at half-time, so the points Lutterworth did score, they had to work really hard for.”
Grove had a close-up view of the action as the former Scotland international was pressed into service for his first appearance of the season, with Mauro Miller and Joe Jenkins both unavailable for the trip to Leicestershire. Grove carried hard and made a series of crunching tackles but modestly highlighted the contribution of his centre partner Bloomfield to the victory.
“A special shout-out to Josh. I think he was the difference today. Every time he got the ball he made yards, he often beat the first defender and he just gave us go forward every single time,” Grove said.
