Sam’s the man for Borough as they make it six of the best

Sam Crooks spent half an hour on the sidelines injured yet still played the leading role in Borough’s lastest win.

The teams’s player/coach set up both tries for his side as they beat Lutterworth 13-6 at Fengate to make it a super six wins on the trot in Midlands Division One.

First of all he broke from the back of a scrum 15 metres out to send winger Mooki Tshepo-Olebile scurrying in for a try on 14 minutes to give Borough a 5-0 lead.

But just before half-time Crooks departed the action after aggravting an old wrist injury in a tackle.

His return was not expected but as the game entered the final quarter, and with Lutterworth trailing just 8-6 and pressing hard for a winning score, Crooks was re-introduced to the fray.

And it was that man again who popped up to carve out the opening for a Dewi Pearce try which put the issue beyond doubt.

Crooks’ magic moments brightened up an otherwise dull afternoon.

The match hardly set the pulses racing and there was little in terms of attacking rugby to excite either set of supporters.

The game was littered with errors as both sides struggled to get to grips with a ball resembling a bar of soap.

But what Borough do exceptionally well these days is defend.

Lutterworth had a few spells of sustained pressure, particularly in the second half, but they came up against a rock-solid Borough rearguard. There was no way through and Lutterworth’s points all came from kicks.

For Borough, scrum-half Ross Chamberlain and fullback Michael Bean were the most threatening and Chamberlain almost put Dan O’Connell in for a try in the second half but the big prop was bundled over a foot short of the line.

Borough remain fifth in the table.

Borough: M. Bean, M. Tshepo-Olebile, O. Pearce, R. Morris, T. Stuffins, M. Newman, R. Chamberlain, L. Murphy, D. Pearce, S. Day, J. Myles, S. Mills, L. Swindells, Z. McClure, S. Crooks. Subs: S. Cowell, D. O’Connell, L. Smedley.

Oundle are also going well in Midlands Division One. They stay third after thrashing Northampton Old Scouts 4813 with Robb Shingles crossing for a hat-trick of tries.

This Saturday, Borough should extend their winning sequence to seven games as they visit bottom club Melton Mowbray, who have yet to win a game. Oundle are away at fourth-placed Oadby.

Borough full-back Michael Bean in the thick of the action against Lutterworth.