Sat 16 Nov 2024
This week, Stratford were on the road, against local rivals Shipston on Stour RFC, the first of a run of three, before the next home match. They were dealt an early blow when captain Tom Stanley had to pull out with illness, added to Ben Cole and Dan Whitby getting stuck at work and not being able to make it for the kick-off. This meant two of the subs starting and a call up from the second team for Rory Webb.
Shipston kicked off playing down the slope in the first half and immediately gave a penalty away to give Stratford a chance to clear. From the lineout Stratford worked the ball across the field and but for a knock-on along the other touchline, would have made a great inroads into the Shipston half, however Shipston dominated the resulting scrum and launched their first attack of the game. Shipston worked the ball each way, initially being forced backward by the Stratford defence but three minutes later made the breakthrough, with their inside centre stepping through a gap and scoring 15 m right of the post.
Within a few minutes Stratford’s situation went from bad to worse with the referee deeming a Michael Dawes tackle was high and showing him yellow card. Though preventing a lineout driving maul try with fewer forwards, Stratford weren’t able to clear their lines properly and Shipston made the most of the space available, working the ball to the far left and sneaking in in the corner. These two tries, with only the first converted successfully, left the score at 12-0 after only 8-9 minutes.
Just before Stratford were restored to 15 men, Shipston had driven the Stratford pack back off a scrum in front of their posts and taken the three points as a result of the penalty awarded for it. Once the game got back underway, Stratford were presented with an opportunity after a Shipston attempted clearance went straight into touch having passed it back into their own 22. Stratford took the lineout and worked the ball either way across the pitch testing the Shipston defence, unfortunately a miss pass that would have put winger Tom Houlahan, most likely in for a try, was intercepted. Despite the attempted chase down by Stratford debutant Jamie Jones, the Shipston 15 survived the 60 m chase and scored in the right corner. Though not catching him, flanker Jones had forced him to score out wide and the resulting conversion was missed, leaving the score at 22-0.
Stratford were able to get themselves on the board shortly after, with a well worked try scored under the posts. When Shipston tried to exit their 22 following the restart Stratford’s Zak Amond, filling in at prop, latched onto the ball at a ruck and won Stratford a penalty. Realising they were better with the possession and needing to score tries, DoR Richard Pepperell instructed now captain Jack Young to tap and go from penalties for the time being. Five phases and two more penalties later Stratford took a tap only 6 m from Shipston’s line, drawing the forwards in, they then spread the ball to outside centre Chris Bolton whose running-line, just off inside centre Gwilym Davis, allowed him to jink through a gap for the score. Davis added the two points to bring the score back to 22-7.
The next 15 minutes up until half-time were controlled a bit better by Stratford, but they were struggling with Shipston’s offload game. There was a moment when a Shipston lock look sure to score next to the posts, but scrum-half Jake Lowe managed to get himself under the ball to prevent the score. Though they had arrived and were ready on the bench, Cole and Whitby weren’t introduced straightaway but made their way onto the pitch in this period, along with veteran David Pritchard, helping to shore up the Stratford defence. Half-time came around with the score still 22-7.
Stratford got the second half started, and the next try, thanks to scrum-half Lowe sneaking around the edge of a ruck and scoring 15 m from the right corner. This came minutes after the restart having had a lineout in the Shipston 22 thanks to a long penalty kick to touch by 10 Nathan Geekie. Three phases after the lineout, with the forwards caught off guard Lowe scored from 10 m out, and Whitby converted to bring the score back to 22-14.
Despite many positive moments, Stratford conceded a further three tries in the second half, the results of slip tackles, a slight lack of power in the scrum and an inability to secure clean breakdowns to build from when in possession. Particular Stratford highlights were Pritchard making yards from the back of the scrum-as he has always been able to, centre Bolton dizzying defenders with his footwork and dominant carries from the forwards, though sadly often isolated from their support, leading to turnovers.
With the score now standing at 43-14, Stratford began showing they were more than a match for Shipston when they got their act together, they gained confidence in maintaining some much-needed possession and worked their way into the Shipston half. They played it left from the base of a relatively steady scrum and made their way towards the 22, receiving another penalty for another Shipston discretion, scrum-half Lowe took a quick tap and spread the ball right to centre Davis, who dummied and stepped inside before being brought down. With another advantage, Stratford scrum-half Lowe snuck around the ruck, as he had for his own try, and was able to pop it off to his right to find winger George Fox supporting through the gap and diving in to score right of the post. Whitby converted the try to make it 43-21.
Stratford were on the ascendancy for the final 8-10 minutes of the match, with the Shipston team tiring, there was a real hope of 4th bonus point try which would have been a slight silver lining to an otherwise disappointing day. Centre Bolton made more of his twisting runs and Stratford scrums and lineouts improved, but unfortunately it was all too late, and the game finished 43-21. Player of the Match on the day went to scrum-half Jake Lowe, managing to score, assist and dig the ball out of a lot of messy rucks, he showed a real tenacity in trying conditions. Michael Dawes was a contender, but for his yellow card, however it was hard to look past Lowe.
Shipston deserved their win, but Stratford will feel they left a lot out there as they have in a few away games this year and hope that they can reverse the score at the return fixture in the New Year. The Stratford second team, having been raided to support the firsts, suffered a similar fate-in not being able to control/slow the game when needed, losing to Shipston’s seconds 43-5.
Stratford: 1. Michael Dawes, 2. Ben Cole, 3. Rory Webb, 4. Zak Amond, 5. Will Dobbin, 6. Sam James, 7. Zak Hamersley, 8. Jack Young (VC), 9. Jake Lowe, 10. Nathan Geekie, 11. Tom Houlahan, 12. Gwilym Davis, 13. Dan Whitby (VC), 14. George Fox, 15. Jo Cook. Subs: 16. David Pritchard, 17. Jamie Jones, 18. Chris Bolton
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