Bury RUFC 17 Rossendale 22 - BURY started their league campaign against local opposition Rossendale, a side well known to Bury from friendly matches, but newly-promoted Bury now met them in a true test of ability.

The simple truth of the matter is Bury lost a game they should on balance have won and Rossendale, who came with expectations of an easy win, were lucky not to have been beaten.

In the opening minutes the home side were awarded a penalty seven metres from the opposition try line and ten metres in field and then took the wrong option.

Instead of simple route one crash ball at the point of infringement they chose to retire a further ten metres and use the same ploy, a mistake that gave the vistors distance to protect the line and then clear.

To add insult to injury Rossendale had a passage of good forward play, sucked in the Bury cover inside their own 22 and having over-committed their players, a simple overlap was available for the vistors to score an unconverted try in the right corner.

Bury reduced the deficit to two points in the 25th minute with a penalty from stand off Ian Webb.

Rossendale were making good use of the conditions with brilliant underfoot conditions and a strong diagonal wind. The use of the high kick assisted by the wind kept Bury on the back foot and after 32 minutes Rossendale were to score again when a ruck broke down and the scorer vaulted over a mass of prostrate players to score an unconverted try.

After the restart Bury, having reorganised the pack in a tactical reshuffle, started to use the dominance they were to enjoy in the set scrum and return the favour of using the high ball and the wind to gain territorial advantage.

Bury levelled the score after 48 minutes when some sleight of hand between hooker Sam Kelly and debutant centre South African Andre Pieter Botha followed by a jinking run from back row Bernard Robinson yielded a converted try.

This subdued the spectators from Rossendale as the Bury contingent looked on smugly as the game was there for the taking.

Bury were to lose the match following two simple mistakes. The first resulted from a poor back pass seized on by the visitors for an unconverted try in the 50th minute.

They added a converted try with 73 minutes of normal time played when the left wing scored in the corner as a result of one missed tackle and a back-up defender not covering the gap. At last Rossendale managed to convert the effort.

Bury, however, were not finished and with a 12-point deficit and now only some five minutes of normal time remaining, Kelly found right wing Mark Fielding in space and he outpaced the visitors to make 70 metres downfield and place the ball under the posts.

The conversion was by Botha, taking over from Ian Webb, who had left the field with a suspected broken jaw resulting from an accident while defending.

Bury can take much consolation from the result. They were neither intimidated or outplayed and those cynics who felt they would be unable to compete and consolidate at this higher level I suggest will be proved wrong.

BURY: Roberts, Kelly, Shimmons, Kennedy, Lawton, Smythe, Robinson, Westwood, Livesey, Webb, Fielding, Botha, Fawcett, Wardle, McGarrity. Replacement: Freschini (for Roberts 40 mins).

Tomorrow Bury visit Kirby Lonsdale (kick-off 3pm).