Kettering travelled to Bugbrooke for the EMRU U14 Cup semi-final. An overnight frost meant the pitch was very hard in places but a minor delay to the kick off gave time for the welcome sun to thaw out the frost. The underfoot conditions allowed running rugby and were a credit to the ground staff and the home club.

Despite several changes to the starting line up Kettering showed good early understanding and pace to chase down Cameron 's kick off - with Ben tackling well to slow down the early Bugbrooke advance. From a ruck on the home 10 metre line Will found Tasker and he gave a fast, flat pass out to Henri. For a moment it looked like an interception as the a defender shot confidently out of the line with arms outstretched. However the ball just evaded his fingertips and Henri flew into the gap handing off two defenders and running under the posts to score. His excellent finish wasn't matched by his conversion which was missed from in front.

Bugbrooke 0 - Kettering 5

From the kick off Cam made a fantastic 50 m break before being brought down inside the home 22. Bugbrooke did well at the breakdown to fight back and turnover the ball - eventually winning a scrum. The Kettering pack showed great collective presence to win the ball against the head allowing Chris to pick up from the back and rumble off towards the try line. Several Bugbrooke defenders tackled him gamely but he was still able to force his way over for the second try. This time Henri made amends for his earlier miss adding the extra 2 points safely.

Bugbrooke 0 - Kettering 12

Despite the early setbacks Bugbrooke showed great tenacity from the kick off - getting the ball in hand and making good territory into the Kettering half. Dan Harley was yet again prominent in tackling anything that moved and after further Bugbrooke pressure the ball was finally cleared to touch by Cam. At the next line out some aerial ping pong resulted in Kettering claiming possession and Tasker launching a clearing kick into the opposition half. Excellent chasing from Kettering saw Henri reclaim the ball and race home to score on the right despite being chased well by the hard working defence. The try was unconverted.

Bugbrooke 0 - Kettering 17

The pressure from Kettering kept building and they soon had good territory again after an unexpected hack forward by Chris forced a home 22 drop out to touch. The line out was won by Kettering and an incisive backs move from the training pitch saw Tasker switch the ball inside to Cam who broke the defensive line at speed. Henri took the ball on feeding Hayden who powered wide around the covering tacklers at pace to score near the posts - converted by Henri.

Bugbrooke 0 - Kettering 24

From the kick off Cam collected the ball on the 10 metre line and set off towards the opposition half. The defenders expected him to pass, as did the crowd, but he had different ideas , weaving around tackles and swerving his way towards the try line. Picking up pace he steamed his way to the far corner taking the last defender with him to finish off an excellent solo try. Henri was unable to convert and the ref blew for half-time.

HALF - TIME Bugbrooke 0 - Kettering 29

Kettering rang the changes at half time bringing several subs on from the bench - however the story of the game remained the same with Bugbrooke giving their all but going unrewarded.

The next try came from a well worked pick and go from a maul with Tasker taking the ball on the blind side and feeding George. He made great ground before being well tackled short of the line - popping the ball up superbly for Cam to gather and slide over to score the try. The try was unconverted.

Bugbrooke 0 - Kettering 34

Next up was a debut try for Dom Ferreira. Showing that improvement in his scrummaging wasn't all he bought to the party Dom took a crash ball on the Bugbrooke 10 metre line and bulldozed his way to the line scattering despairing defenders in his wake. Henri converted to add the extras.

Bugbrooke 0 - Kettering 41

Once more from the kick off Kettering refused to take their foot off the gas. Josh taking a good catch and setting Henri free at speed. The defenders were starting to tire under the relentless pressure and Henri broke clear to score under the posts - converting his own try.

Bugbrooke 0 - Kettering 48

There was still time for 2 more Kettering scores. Henri going over in the right corner - despite the close attentions of several defenders showing great spirit and grit despite the score line. Rounding thing off was George who was justly rewarded for his excellent support play throughout the game with a try in the left corner. Both tries went unconverted.

Bugbrooke 0 - Kettering 58

The game finished with Kettering on the attack once more. However it was a considerable mark of the commitment of the Bugbrooke team that they refused to lie down and as Cam headed for the far corner he was chased down and put firmly, if narrowly, into touch.

FULL TIME - Bugbrooke 0 - Kettering 58

A powerful performance from Kettering and whilst Bugbrooke will be disappointed they didn't give a better account of themselves they still showed immense character and pride in their shirt right to the final whistle and refused to throw in the towel.

Kettering move on to the Cup Final on the 22nd March - well done boys for an excellent performance today.

Many thanks to Bugbrooke for your hospitality and best of luck for the rest of the season.

MAN OF THE MATCH - George York - often in the right place at the right time his support play and tackling is a great asset to the team. But more than that he shows he has a good rugby brain and has a great knack of making smart breaks - one setting up a try and one scoring his own try.

OK folks - its BACON BUTTY TIME.

I won't bore you with repeating the usual pork related punnery so here are the scores on the doors for Bugbrooke from the Kettering jury.

BAP - soft , yielding to the touch ....and unlike the pitch at 9.30 you could sink your teeth into it safely. 4/5
BACON - I like mine on the well done side. Which was a good thing here as the griddle was smoking hot and the rashers had a deeper tan than Joey Essex ! 3/5
EXTRAS - Sausages - lots and lots of lovely sizzling snags. I went back for seconds. Brave effort with the egg chaps but a minus point for the brown sauce - where was the HP? 3/5
AMBIENCE - Nothing beats an alfresco BBQ breakfast bar and it was a pleasure to share bacon with friends in the mid winter sunlight. Even if I failed to do my usual pre-butty risk assessment and narrowly avoided being run over by a driver blinded by the sun - unless it was the HP sauce delivery...? 4/5

GRAND TOTAL - Drum roll......14 out of 20. Putting Bugbrooke into second place in the Golden Butty Hall of Fame. Great work and big thanks to all the hard working volunteers who make our clubs tick!

TTFN