Almost two years to the day since the inaugural Breadboard Cup, the Second XV embarked on a mission to win back the famous Breadboard, having been unable to do so since the fateful day when marker pen was first put to wood. The players sought inspiration from giants of Ossett Cup folklore such as Rowan McWilliams, Toby Maynard, Alex Crisp, Mark Fisher and The Rugby Pilgrimage, as well as more obscure names such as Lee Gilmour.

Ever a feisty affair, the conditions added an extra dimension to proceedings as a layer of sludge was all that covered the frozen ground underneath, resulting in red knees all round. However, the weather could not be allowed to get in the way of such a momentous occasion as both teams threw themselves into a hard-fought, physical encounter.

A series of crunching tackles from Alfie Henson, James Hill and James Everitt set the tone for the afternoon, although Owen Martin-Jones dumping the Ossett loosehead on his back proved the fans’ favourite.

However, the hosts drew first blood as Luke Chadwick was sin-binned for a no-arms tackle, with Ossett capitalising on the advantage by driving Burley over the line from a scrum. Burley responded with their own period of pressure, the forwards forcing a succession of penalties to advance upfield and pile pressure on the defence. Powerful carries by Jayden Lewis and Ben Slack opened space, which was exploited by Owen Reece-Jones with a lovely pop to Andrew Calderwood to touch down in the corner.

Everitt and Martin-Jones won vital turnovers as the sides battled for supremacy, while Alfie Box, Gareth McAndrews and Erik Phillips’ tenacity in defence starved the Pirates of field position. It wasn’t long before the Ossett line was breached again, as more good work from the pack opened space for Joe Robinson to barrel over off his trademark wedge. Liam Clark’s successful conversion from out wide gave Burley a seven-point lead, although this was soon reduced back down to two as Ossett just managed to wrestle the ball to ground despite desperate defence from Slack and Nathan Britz.

The half-time break saw Burley buoyed by motivational words from Mike Welsh and Mark Docherty - no strangers to the high stakes of Breadboard Cup drama - as well as the introduction of the Bomber squad from the bench. Morgan Nicholson was forced off after a clash of heads from his first involvement, although the work of Ryan O’Brien, James Dodson, George Anderson and Ali Trace maintained the frenetic tempo.

A late tackle on Reece-Jones saw Ossett reduced to 14 for ten minutes, with Burley taking advantage as Damien Thomson’s inch-perfect kick found space in the backfield, forcing the Ossett fullback off his feet, where Ben Slack pounced with a textbook jackal to rip the ball and score.

Despite the visitors controlling the second half, a bonus point try was elusive. Player of the match Clark and Dodson both came within inches of scoring but were unable to regather kicks ahead. A breakaway by Ossett again reduced the margin to two points, although remained unconverted as Fisher’s off day with the boot continued.

A nervy final ten minutes were expertly negotiated, with Sean Astbury defusing high balls in tough conditions and Harry Francis producing a pinpoint clearance kick from his own five metre line to relieve pressure. After more excellent work in defence, Martin-Jones cleared to touch to bring the game to a close, securing the long-overdue return of the Breadboard to Abbey Road.

After the painstaking efforts of Erik Phillips and Harry Francis to coax enough water pressure from the showers to wash away a tsunami of mud, the team returned to the clubhouse, where Ryan O’Brien had the honour of writing the 15-17 scoreline on the Breadboard, closing the latest chapter of Ossett Cup history.