Bury ran-out 56 - 17 Winners!

Bury hosted mid table Colne and Nelson at Radcliffe road this week needing a win and other results to go their way in order to secure promotion. Conditions were perfect for running, exciting rugby something Bury really wanted to show to the crowd in their last game this season. The home side were looking to play an expansive, fast game from the kick off but it took them ten minutes to really get going. Bury looked nervous at times in the opening exchanges knowing only a win would do.

Possession and territory flipped around early on and it took a Heath penalty to settle the home side down so they could get on with the job in hand. The Bury pack was now beginning to dominate in the tight and the loose and provide a base from which the team could really start to assert themselves. From this solid base Ed Watkins was able to pick the ball up from the base of the scrum, evade the chasing defence and touch down for the opening try of the game. This domination further culminated in a clean break down the Bury left and some excellent work from lock Dan Walsh who lifted the ball out of a double tackle, straight in to the welcoming hands of captain Jonny Allen who was allowed to dive over for the second try.

Bury added 2 more tries in the first half from George Kelly and Alex English, Colne and Nelson hit back with 2 of their own to leave Bury well placed for a bonus point win at half time. However the talking point of the first half was a fight which culminated in two red cards. Colne and Nelson were left with 14 men losing their open side flanker but Bury were also reduced to 14 losing their loose head prop.
Both sides reshuffled their packs and began the second half. Bury stretched their lead with an excellent team try early on in the second half. A scrum on the right flank was worked out through the hands to Callum Paton on the opposite wing who dived over in the corner. Bury were held up over the line on two further occasions before hooker Alan Dobson intercepted just inside the opposition half and managed to elude the chasing defence, diving over under the posts.

Bury rung the changes to freshen things up and welcomed some young colts players into the side, some for debuts. But it was a player returning from injury who managed to add to the score line. James Swinburn had only been on the pitch a matter of seconds when Ed Watkins collected a Bury kick off, and fast hands allowed Swinburn to crash through the defence and score in the corner. Swinburn was to add to his tally after being gifted a try by some good handling in the back line. Bury ran out 56-17 winners.

The result gave Bury a hope of promotion, but across Manchester in the other fixture Eagle beat Old Bedians to secure promotion for themselves by 1 point. Bury can take a lot of positives from the season and with the introduction of more youth into the side will look to build for next season and another shot at promotion.