OF NO A'VALE

It was a dream of a day - the sun was shining and the pitch was firm, but the first 10 minutes of this match were something of a nightmare for Bury, as they totally failed to “turn up” and conceded 2 tries, at the hands of the outstanding Vale No 8. Fortunately for Bury, though, even though both were close to the sticks, both conversions were missed.

Also fortunate was that Bury then started competing and were able to check the big, strong, mobile Vale pack, to reach half-time trailing 10 – 0. However, even though Bury had seemed to wake up, it was disappointing that they had very little quality possession. In fact, they had very little possession, full stop, and had not been able to make the most of the talents they possessed in the centres, in Kelly and Millington, the latter having moved in from the wing as a tactical change. It was also frustrating, as Bury obviously had the upper hand in the three-quarters, away from the strong Vale forwards.

With the coaches’ words of encouragement ringing in their ears Bury set off to try to make inroads into their deficit. But, within 3 minutes they conceded another try to the Vale No 8 and the writing seemed on the wall.

However, the game then turned. The Bury pack were now competing with the visitors, resulting in more possession which the Bury centres used to test, probe and beat the opposition backs. The pressure told and 10 minutes into the second half, Kelly managed to break away to score under the posts. With fly half Smith having made way for Holt, Hassall was successful with the conversion. 7 -15.

10 minutes later, it was Millington’s turn to score under the posts, from a well executed, rehearsed penalty move from 10 metres out, which seemed to totally confuse the opposition. Hassall again converted, 14 – 15 with 5 minutes remaining with Bury pressing hard.

Throughout the half, Millington made some telling, threatening runs down the wing, but each time he appeared to have outpaced the defence, the last ditch covering tackle was made by the visiting No. 8 who, amongst others, had an exceptional game, scoring all his sides points, with 3 tries, and single-handedly preventing (at least) 3 Bury tries.

The main lesson for Bury to learn from this is that they need to be ready to compete from the starting whistle because against good sides, which Vale certainly are, they will be made to pay. On the upside, though, Bury once more showed great character and maturity in not letting their heads drop after such a bad start.