Bournville Head Coach Alex Grove likened Joe Jenkins to Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez after his composure helped secure a 33-12 victory over Lichfield in difficult conditions at Cooke Fields.
Jenkins, a Wales sevens international, switched from centre to full-back for the match with Mauro Miller moving to the right wing, a combination that contributed three of Bournville’s five tries in a bonus point win that took them eight points clear at the top of the Regional One Midlands table.
Miller demonstrated his footballing skills by dribbling through the mud to score his second try but it was Jenkins’s coolness under pressure which drew the comparison with Martinez from Grove who is a Villa fan.
“Mauro has played all season at full-back and Joe can play anywhere across the backline. I felt that way round, that combination was right for this game,” Grove said.
“I thought Joe made some really good decisions and Mauro took his second try really well. That’s the Italian blood in him with the footballing skills up the middle of the pitch.
“Joe Jenkins is your Emi Martinez at the back – someone you can rely upon.”
Bournville had to deal with late disruption after the match was switched from the waterlogged first team pitch to the third team one at Cooke Fields which was narrow, sloping and only just playable. They also had to contend with a resilient Lichfield side who had taken a losing bonus point from six of their previous seven defeats with the exception being their visit to Avery Fields in November.
“It’s exactly what we expected in terms of what Lichfield brought. We knew they are a team that can scores tries and that they never give up,” Grove said.
“Leading into the game they had got the most bonus points, joint with ourselves, which is a sign of a team that never gives up.
“Even at 14-0 up at half-time we knew they wouldn’t roll over. If I’m being hyper-critical I wouldn’t have wanted to have conceded those two tries in the second-half but for large parts of the game our lads were outstanding.
“The way they approached the game and the slight disruption not knowing whether we would be on the first team, the second team or the third team pitch. But it’s the same for both teams and we didn’t want to use it as an excuse.
“We came into the game with a focus on defence and for large parts of the game we did that.
“It was a really heavy pitch, it was narrow and awkward to play any rugby on. Lichfield’s ball retention was very good which means that when you are defending for long periods you have got to be disciplined. Your defence can’t creak, you have got to have faith everyone is going to make their tackles and not jump out of the line and make it easy for them.
“We gave away a few too many penalties, we got on the wrong side of the penalty count in the second-half, but we have out-scored them five tries to two. So, I think we deserved the victory
“The lads were very focused. We had five games to go and we are set on working towards promotion and, after today, we are one step closer.”
