Pulborough captain Burfiend confident of a great escape

Pulborough captain Simon Burfiend is remaining confident his side can get themselves out of trouble at the wrong end of the London 2 South East table.
Ollie Coombe-Tennant (centre) has been out with concussion. DM171143a.jpg. Rugby: Pulborough v Aylesford Bulls. Photo by Derek MartinOllie Coombe-Tennant (centre) has been out with concussion. DM171143a.jpg. Rugby: Pulborough v Aylesford Bulls. Photo by Derek Martin
Ollie Coombe-Tennant (centre) has been out with concussion. DM171143a.jpg. Rugby: Pulborough v Aylesford Bulls. Photo by Derek Martin

The Freelands outfit were grateful of a free weekend on Saturday after two heavy defeats since returning from the Christmas break.

They went down 52-0 at home to Beckingham on January 6 and then suffered a 78-7 demolition by Dover on January 13.

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The latter was hindered by having Ollie Paige, Ollie Coombe-Tennant and Lewis Morton out with concussion and missing a number of other players due to injury problems. With those behind them, Burfiend feels they are better placed to host Charlton Park this weekend.

They head into the clash desperate for a victory, sitting second-from bottom in the standings, ahead of only whipping boys Barking.

‘Boro trail place-above Deal & Bettershanger by 11 points and Burfiend said: “We didn’t have a fixture this weekend. However, it was a good opportunity to get some players back to fitness.

“Since Christmas we had three players out with concussions, who need to come back through the correct protocols, which always pouts a strain on the side.

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“We also had a couple of other injuries and players returning from extended holidays over Christmas.

During the rest week the coaches and physio have been working hard to get the player numbers back up which massively hampered us against Dover.

“Looking forward we are still very confident we can bridge the gap and stay safe in this league.

“We have a decent run of home games which we are really looking to target.

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“We have always known we can compete against the best in the league. However, the issue for us is consistency in selection, because on unavailability, making it hard to get a decent run of form.

This weekend’s opponents Park sit fourth in the standings and have nine wins from their 14 matches so far.

One of which was a 48-26 home success over ‘Borough back in October.

Burfiend, whose side will be trying to secure their fourth win of the campaign, said: “We have a strong side already selected for Charlton Park this weekend. Whom we had a close encounter with in the first half of the season.

“They were very powerful during the scrum, so we have looked to work on this area, hoping that our backs will still have the upper hand provided they get good ball.”