This season’s Suffolk Cup competition has proved a successful hunting ground for the Bury under 14 side this year, and so it continued on a damp and otherwise drab Sunday lunchtime at The Haberden. The unbeaten home record now stretches out to 11 matches and Bury consolidated their position at the top of the Suffolk Cup table with a 52-3 victory.

Bury started the game fast for once, and quickly forced a scrum on the Sudbury 22m line. A nicely controlled drive secured safe ball for Jack Griggs to pick up and run at the Sudbury backline. He offloaded to a supporting Finn O’Donnell who then nicely timed his pass onto a charging Tom Dye to score in the opening minutes. George Howard added the conversion to give Bury an early 7-0 lead.

Sudbury did not let this early setback get to them and, although Bury tended to have most of the possession and territory, the next 15 minutes passed without further score. Some great breaks from Austin Dennis and Luke Neal put pressure onto the Sudbury defence, but a combination of good clearance kicking from the resilient away side and a tendency for Bury to give away penalties at the breakdown resulted in an attritional period of play.

In the 17th minute a long kick from Tom Cornwall was successfully chased down by speedster Luke Neal, forcing the knock-on in defence. Bury won the subsequent scrummage and set about some quick phase play just inside the Sudbury 22m. After drawing a few defenders in, the ball was passed out to William Hudson-White who looked up and saw the opportunity. His strength saw him hand off three tackle attempts before he showed good pace to round the remaining defenders and score a great try. George Howard again added the conversion.

Bury were starting to control the scrum but gave away a couple more penalties for over-zealous work at the ruck which helped prevent any more points being scored in the first half. Some great tackling from Austin Dennis, Will Hudson-White and Ben Nevison-Grainger ensured Sudbury were generally kept on the back foot. In the last play of the half it appeared to all intents and purposes that Angus Hudson had crossed the line to score after a typically strong drive, but the referee was unfortunately unsighted and the TMO had already gone to the bar for a half-time drink.

The second half began in much the same style as the first, with Bury quick out of the blocks and on the attack. Sam Green made a great break down the middle of the park, before the side-stepping Billy Reid took the ball further into Sudbury territory. Tom Dye was again on hand to run a nice line over from 25 metres out for a 3rd minute try. Ben Hewett added the conversion and then two minutes later turned try-scorer himself. A long, marauding break from Nico Marchini was briefly stopped on the Sudbury 22m line, but because the tackle was not completed, he could drive forwards with the ball again, carrying right up to 5m out before being dragged down. Fresh from his television appearance on Friday night, Ben Hewett saw the opportunity to pick and drive over the line for a great supporting try and just rewards for his hard work since returning from a long injury.

As the half went on, Sam Green was continuing to carry well and Tom Cornwall was keeping the pressure on the away side with some clever play. On 14 minutes Jack Griggs picked up the ball 15m out and beat the last three defenders with a mixture of pace and power and then ran round under the posts to score; Billy Reid added the conversion. From the restart a huge drive from Sam Green caused disarray in the Sudbury defence, before Vincent La Starza took up the charge. He was held up short of the line, but Jack Griggs was on hand to double his tally and finish off a fine forwards move. George Howard added the conversion to leave the score at 40-0 with ten minutes remaining.

Sudbury kept playing and came away with a successful penalty in the 25th minute after Bury went off their feet again at the ruck. The respite was short-lived however with first Vincent La Starza and then Nico Marchini charging through the defence for two exemplar tries – pace and side-stepping from Nico and raw power and determination from Vince. Billy Reid converted the last of these to leave the final score at 52-3.

The players and coaches can be very pleased with a fourth win from four cup games this season; with a large squad it is increasingly difficult to pick a matchday squad as so many lads deserve a place. Despite the ever-changing starting line up the team always play well for each other and their determination and enthusiasm are excellent to see. The ‘green wall of defence’ is starting to develop and being used further up the field to apply greater pressure to opposing sides and there was a good commitment to correct presentation of the ball when tackled – being tackled is part of the game and creates space for teammates, so retaining possession at this time is vital. A few too many penalties were given away, but the team did not let it affect their concentration and they can be very proud of another great performance. Many of the squad who missed out this week were also in attendance offering valuable support and showing the burgeoning camaraderie in this young group. Two more cup games to go, both against Colchester, and plenty of other fixtures coming up too – thank you all for your wonderful continued support.

Man of the Match (Forwards): Tom Dye
Man of the Match (Backs): George Howard
Most improved (Forwards): Sam Green
Most improved (Backs): Freddie Dean