Head Coach Alex Grove admitted that Bournville were given an early wake-up call by their 61-10 defeat at Redruth in their National Two West opener.
The game was effectively over as a contest by half-time when Redruth cruised into a 40-0 lead and it was not until late in the second-half before Bourns got on the scoresheet when centre Oscar van Deventer marked his debut with a try.
Bourns always knew that returning to the National Leagues would be challenging and a trip to Redruth’s infamous Hellfire Corner is not one that visiting sides enjoy at any time of year so Bourns will be thankful to have got that out of the way early on.
There are shorter, but equally demanding, away matches to come and Grove will hope to see in them more of the spirited second-half display at Redruth than the disappointing and disjointed first-half effort
“The first-half was a massive wake-up call as to what we face on our return to National League rugby,” Grove said.
“Redruth had lots of time on the ball and that allowed them to build the intensity and momentum. The more time they had on the ball, the more pressure they were able to build and quicker and quicker they were able to play.
“We didn’t miss first-up tackles particularly, it was just that we had to soak up so much pressure that we ended up infringing and conceding penalties and that led to a couple of yellow cards.
“We were much better in the second-half which we lost three tries to two. We came out and showed, at times, what we are capable of – moving the ball and handling confidently – which led to the two tries.
“We know that Redruth is a difficult place to go and we are aware of the challenges that lie ahead, but the first-half was still a wake-up call for us.”
