Sat 18 Jan 2025
Following the postponement of Stratford’s trip away to Newent, Stratford welcomed Malvern RFC, who had also had the previous game postponed, and both hoped to capitalise on the extra week’s break. This game would be a chance for Stratford to exact revenge on Malvern for the defeat they suffered in the reverse fixture, 20-23 from a last-minute penalty, and hopefully make the gap between the two in the table unattainable.
Stratford started the match brightly and, through multiple phases, made their way towards the Malvern try line with the end result being a penalty on the Malvern 5 m line. Despite a dominant scrum the referee penalised Stratford and Malvern went quickly making it to almost halfway before Stratford were able to reorganise. Both teams had some positive sets of phases keeping the defenders on high alert, including a Stratford attack from their own 22 that sadly ended with the final pass going slightly behind Winner George Fox.
Unfortunately, Malvern were actually the first to score with Stratford giving penalties away unnecessarily at multiple rucks and inviting their opponents on them. With similar playing styles, it was exactly the type of try Stratford would have hoped to be scoring themselves, dominant carries, and multiple phases later Malvern were able to drive over the try line from short range. With 10 minutes gone and the conversion successful, the score was 0-7 and it was not the start the sizeable home crowd were hoping for.
Within two minutes of the opening score, Stratford’s outside centre Charlie Powell found himself weaving through the Malvern defence and touching down between the posts with ease. Stratford won the ball back when Zak Amond disrupted a ruck on halfway and allowed his second-row partner James Walton to get the attack going. Three phases later and sharp passing from the backs got them into the 22 before both fly half Nathan Geekie and scrum-half Jake Lowe drew their defenders out the line, allowing Powell to dissect a misaligned defence from 5 m out.
Stratford were straight back at it not long after, forcing a knock-on inside Malvern’s half, with a stable scrum the backs spread the ball right to left, with direct passes and smart running lines, getting them all the way to the Malvern 22. With the resulting ruck being not far from the opposite touchline, flyhalf Geekie sensed an opportunity and snuck to that side, taking a pop pass from Lowe and drawing the covering defender before popping it back inside giving and Lowe a 10 m run into the corner. A precision conversion by Dan Whitby from the sideline saw Stratford leading 14-7.
With Malvern having brought it back to 14-10 following a Stratford ruck infringement in front of their posts, they gave Stratford a scare when a dropped ball was toed through, and the retreating Stratford backs were forced to touch the ball down behind their own try line. Thankfully, with Stratford’s pack having gained dominance in the scrum, they were able to drive Malvern backwards and pressure at the resulting ruck turned it over and allowed them to clear their 22. With almost 30 minutes gone Stratford were looking good for the win with the majority of possession.
Not long before half-time, having pinned Malvern in their own half, Stratford continued pressing to push for another try. On a rare Malvern foray into the Stratford half a backs move was read by centre Powell who made his way from one 22 to the other before being stopped, four scrums, a few phases, and multiple penalties later Stratford were really testing Malvern as well as the referee’s reluctance to bin any of the Malvern front row. Opting for a quick ball off the back of the next scrum, with 13 Powell in on the tight crossing line, Geekie left his opposite man rooted to the spot unable to decide who to tackle, eventually stopping neither and allowing Geekie to stroll in. Then converted by Whitby, the half-time score was 21-10.
The second half started at a relatively quick pace with both teams feeling they should have taken more points from the first half, and each had some promising attacks, Stratford’s stopped due to a forward pass, and a prolonged Malvern possession in the Stratford 22 rebuffed with the referee showing Stratford a similar leniency to that he showed the Malvern scrum in the first. In truth, both these periods probably should have resulted in a defender being sent to the sin bin. With Stratford now on the attack and with 10 minutes of the half over already, a triple change was made introducing Geoff Dyson, Ethan Cook and outside flanker Jonny Smith back from a long-term shoulder injury.
Stratford continued to attack over the next 7-8 minutes but were halted by two penalties, however they made their way into the 22 with real purpose and determination each time hoping to secure the fourth bonus point try. A pick and go from the ruck by number eight Angus Wightman got Stratford a metre from the posts and then they recycled the ball and spread it to the left. Now full-back, Ethan Cook joined in the attack to the left leaving the Malvern defenders outnumbered and helpless to stop him scoring the try. Though not the hardest of the day, Whitby pulled the conversion to the left of the posts leaving the score 26-10 with 20 minutes left.
Straight from the kick-off, with the ball passed twice left out to centre Powell, he once again broke the Malvern defence, and possibly their resolve by the end of the move, going near to 50 m before being stopped. A bruising 10 m carry forward by Amond took Stratford to the Malvern 22 and before they knew it, they were a metre in front of the post once again, with two long passes to the right allowing eventual man of the match Nathan Geekie to shrug off a tired attempt at a tackle and score the try 15 m in from the right corner. This was a well worked try with every single player doing their part, whether mentioned or not, and with Whitby adding the extra 2 to make it 33-10.
The final 15-18 minutes of the game were littered with lineouts, scrums and penalties but sadly no more tries. A consistent backline playing week in week out could probably have scored three if not four more in that time, but as you’ve previously read that’s not been possible up to now so let’s hope we can find that. Nathan Geekie was awarded man of the match, there were a fair few not far behind in the running though, but it’s fitting that he received the accolade as he will be key following the loss of Gwilym Davis for the foreseeable.
Stratford: 1. Michael Dawes* 2. Ben Cole* 3. Tom Stanley* 4. Zak Amond* 5. James Walton 6. Sam James* 7. Jamie Jones* 8. Angus Wightman 9. Jake Lowe 10. Nathan Geekie* 11. Andy Oliver 12. Dan Whitby 13. Charlie Powell* 14. George Fox* 15. Jo Cook* Subs: 16. Geoff Dyson* 17. Jonny Smith* 18. Ethan Cook*
*Denotes a product of Stratford minis and juniors
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