Dudley Kingswinford 14 Bournville 64
Bournville banked their first away win of the season by overpowering Dudley Kingswinford in an entertaining Regional One Midlands derby at Heathbrook.
Bourns scored ten tries, evenly divided between the halves, with the first five coming in a 20 minute purple patch before the break which effectively decided the game.
Most of the tries were outstanding team scores combining excellent support play, confident handling and patience in attack which broke down a spirited but out-gunned DK side.
The last time Bournville visited Heathbrook, in December 2023, they returned home empty-handed and when DK centre Tom Walker went over for an interception try after just four minutes, Bourns supporters could have been forgiven for having premonitions of something similar happening, particularly on a heavy pitch.
But there was no hint of panic as Bourns produced a composed and disciplined display in which they cut down the penalty count for high tackles and not rolling away on the ground and also stayed on the right side of the referee throughout.
A try from Adam Collingwood, who started on the right wing but played the second-half in his preferred position of scrum-half, after 11 minutes got Bourns on the scoreboard with Jacob Fewtrell’s excellent conversion from a difficult angle and into a strong downfield wind levelling the scores.
The tries then came thick and fast with Jasper Smith scoring against his old club after he charged down an attempted clearance kick close to DK’s line with Mauro Miller then cutting through from a sustained attack.
George Jewell scored the bonus point try after 28 minutes when excellent support play allowed Bourns to build the pressure and wear down DK’s defence with Nathan Decalmer introducing his usual flash of individual brilliance by chipping over the advancing defence, giving the ball another nudge with his right boot and gathering to scorch away to open up a 24 points cushion.
Walker scored his second try for DK just before the break which meant that Bourns still had work to do in the second-half. In the third quarter of the match Bourns enjoyed plenty of territory and possession but could not break down the home defence.
It became a little frenetic and shapeless during that period but after Mikey Ho broke the stalemate with in the 60th minute, Bournville regained their composure and finished with a flourish.
Jamie Harding, on loan from Birmingham Moseley, marked his first appearance since the end of the 2022/23 season with a busy performance in the loose – he started at hooker but ended the match in the back-row – with a try in the corner.
Teenage fly-half Oscar Fawkes-Underwood then put Miller over for his second try with a lovely break before Jewell went over for another close-range try.
Decalmer put the seal on victory when he tapped and ran a penalty on halfway and raced away to score unopposed under the posts for his second try of the match and ninth in the last three games.
Fewtrell, having converted six of the first nine tries, allowed Fawkes-Underwood to score his first points in a competitive match by kicking the final conversion from in front of the posts.
