Sat 7 Sep 2024
With both sides raring to go, following a rousing minute of applause in commemoration of Dave Young, the game kicked off and for the first five minutes things were equally matched with both teams having bright moments. Stratford eventually won themselves a kick to the corner for a 5 m lineout. Though they were held up from the resulting driving maul, the dropout from the goal-line was caught just outside the 22 and immediately spread right. After a few hard carries by the forwards, Stratford were back in front of the posts and quick ruck speed plus a delightful 25-yard miss-two pass from Nathan Geekie, meant Charlie Powell was able to run in the left corner unopposed, 5-0.
The game continued in a relatively open fashion, though scrums appeared to be a bit of a lottery, perhaps down to which forward pack had worked hardest in the lead up to the scrum. It was not simply that the defending team always won the ball back, despite the extra player not having to worry about hooking the ball, or the number eight, about if they will need to take the ball themselves.
Stratford converted a penalty from just outside the 22 in front of the posts after a great turnover penalty was won in the ruck. After the restart the Ledbury 13 took an attempted cross-field kick by Stratford out of the air, and they built some pressure from there. After not capitalising on a penalty advantage, Ledbury kicked to the corner and scored try from their own driving maul. With the conversion they’d pulled it back to 8-7.
A penalty from the restart allowed Stratford to force the game to be played in the Ledbury half, who were starting to show a real dominance but were falling short at the final hurdle, whether it be a good tackle by the Ledbury defence or a handling error. Stratford did get their second try of the match around the half-hour mark, having tied up all the forwards on the left with a lineout at the 22, the ball was spread right through the hands and outside centre Lewis Mellor was able to get around his man, inside the winger and avoid the covering tackle by the full-back. The score was still 13-7 after a failed attempt at a kick from the touchline.
Ledbury did have their spells of possession, but dominant tackles from the Stratford defence gave plenty of opportunity for breakdown turnovers and prevented Ledbury from the Stratford 22 for the majority of the half. With only a couple of minutes left on the clock before half-time, Stratford had a scrum on their own 22 and sent the ball right. A clearing kick stayed infield and was not gathered well by the Ledbury winger and the Stratford backs pounced, won back possession and a quick couple of pop passes saw Jonny Smith go in for a try right of the posts. The conversion was the last scoring act of the half, which ended with Stratford leading 20-7.
Within a minute of the restart, Lewis Mellor was able to score his second try of the match. Despite Ledbury taking a high clearing kick once again, they then worked the ball back and forth across the pitch Lewis Mellor was able to intercept a pass and run in from just outside his own 22. The conversion from in front of the posts allowed Gwilym Davies to put Stratford 27-7 ahead.
Stratford’s dominance continued in the second half, despite a valiant effort from Ledbury, and for the first 10 minutes the game was once again played mainly in the Ledbury half. After a few scrums, Stratford gained possession on the Ledbury 22 having shown great line speed to push Ledbury back from a lineout on the halfway line. From the back of what was now a Stratford ruck, the ball was sent left down the blindside and Lewis Mellor was able to complete his hat-trick, fooling his opposite man with a dummy to the Stratford winger, this resulted in the scoreboard showing 32-7.
Stratford were straight back at it again following the restart, with Ledbury visibly tiring and no doubt realising the challenge of the higher league after promotion last season. Stratford also brought on fresh legs using all three replacements. After two or three minutes of back and forth, Stratford brought the ball out of their own 22, with replacement scrum half Tom Houlahan spreading the ball left, from a centre-field ruck. Quick passing saw Charlie Powell progress well into the Ledbury half, stepping inside his opposite man, before popping back on his inside to Houlahan who had been following up the play, he was rewarded with being able to touch down under the posts.
Ledbury did have many promising attacks and will take heart from their performance as a whole, but they always appeared to fizzle out after dominant defensive tackles continually kept them at bay, allowing Stratford to turn the ball over or benefit from a knock-on during the tackle. Their largest period of pressure saw them having a series of pick-and-goes from multiple rucks stopped just before the try line.
Ledbury’s will may finally have been broken immediately after this best attacking phase of theirs, as a knock-on from their own scrum in front of the posts, allowed Stratford to turn the ball over. A few quick passes by the backs down the blindside saw Houlahan, racing down the pitch this time all the way from his own 22, stepping inside at the perfect moment to go past the Ledbury 15 and touch down under the posts once again. With both the last two tries scored under the posts, and converted, Stratford were 46-7 ahead.
The final try of the game came from substitute Michael Dawes. A freekick from a scrum, turned into a penalty to Stratford on the halfway after the referee finally lost patience with comments made by the Ledbury front row. This was kicked for a Stratford lineout on the 22 and another penalty was gained from the driving maul. From the lineout, now on the Ledbury 5m line, the Stratford pack drove over to score in the corner. The conversion was unsuccessful, and the final score was Stratford 51-7 Ledbury.
There were successful performances from 1 to 18, the particular note of which was Seb Grace, who was awarded player of the match, making his first-team debut following his final season with the Colts last year. He started hooker and played the full 80 never looking out of place. A resounding win for Stratford, but the team will be all too aware that it might be one of the easier games of the season.
Stratford: 1. Geoff Dyson, 2. Seb Grace, 3. Tom Stanley (C), 4. Sam James, 5. James Walton, 6. Angus Wightman, 7. Jonny Smith (VC), 8. Jack Young, 9. Jake Lowe, 10. Nathan Geekie, 11. Charlie Powell, 12. Gwilym Davies, 13. Lewis Mellor, 14. Andy Oliver, 15. Joe Cook. Subs: 16. Michael Dawes, 17. Will Dobbin, 18. Tom Houlahan.
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