Bournville newcomers Mauro Miller, Danny Griffin and Jake Thompson won praise from Forwards Coach CJ Osazuwa after they impressed in the 69-7 win over Nuneaton in the Regional One Midlands season opener at Avery Fields.
Bournville ran in 11 tries and produced some superb attacking rugby with rookie wing Miller, a recent arrival from London Welsh, and props Griffin and Thompson, summer recruits from Lichfield and Dudley Kingswinford respectively, prominent in a dominant forward display.
“We’ve only had two or three sessions with Mauro but it was clear when we first saw him that he has great ability, great hands and he’s a really nice runner,” Osazuwa said.
“It’s hard to judge how good someone is going to be just from training but today Mauro showed his ability. He was good under the high ball, he put in a couple of good clearance kicks and he linked up with the boys well.
“Before today we weren’t sure how needed he would be. We have a big squad but when you have two key injuries it doesn’t matter how big your squad is so Mauro could end up being a key player for us.
“He had a really good debut as did our two starting props. Danny Griffin was outstanding, a real powerhouse, and Jake Thompson could be a real anchor for us.
“He has lots of experience at this level at DK. He was really good in the mauls, really good in the scrums so hopefully we can get a lot out of those two this season.”
The injuries to centres Sam Grimshaw and Josh Bloomfield, who departed within five minutes of each other in the first-half, meant that back-row forwards Kieran Henderson and Adam Shaw played most of the match in the backs but it was credit to them and the skills work done in training that Bournville lost no momentum after the enforced reshuffle.
“Apart from when we split into forwards and backs, we make sure that all the guys have got the same skills set. So, the forwards are really comfortable in those 12 channels and on the wing, they good catch-pass, good shape and they know the systems,” Osazuwa said.
“So we would not expect it to knock us off our stride. The boys that did end up playing in the backs, Kieran and Shawsy, played well and they should be very proud of themselves.”
Grimshaw and Bloomfield will be assessed during the week but they look doubtful for next Saturday’s trip to Bridgnorth who went down 27-21 at home to Stourbridge in their season opener.
Bourns will travel to Shropshire in good heart but also in the knowledge that there is also room for improvement despite starting the campaign with such a convincing victory.
“Ultimately we are very happy with the scoreline. I think if you had offered us 69 points and 11 tries at the start we would have been very happy but we felt that we left a few points out there so there is so much more can do,” Osazuwa said.
