Sat 1 Feb 2025
Stratford went away this week to Old Halesonians (Old Hales) sporting an 18 which consisted of 14 players who came through Stratford minis and juniors, a real proud day for the club. 10 minutes of the first half passed relatively quickly with Stratford having the lion’s share of possession, but being unable to break through the Old Hales defence. Kicks in behind them were also dealt with well, pushing Stratford back to relatively comparable positions, so it was actually the higher number of phases, and yards made in those phases, for Stratford which ensured the majority of the play was in Old Hales half.
A penalty on the halfway line was kicked to give Stratford an attacking lineout on the Old Hales 10 m line, and although it didn’t go quite to plan, the ball going to floor appear to help Stratford scramble the ball wide with the Old Hales defence momentarily looking and moving in towards the lineout. The shortened lineout allowed Dan Whitby to use Angus Wightman as a dummy runner in midfield and spread the ball wide to Charlie Powell and then onto full-back Jo Cook. Cook occupied the Old Hales 13 allowing Powell to receive a pop back inside and go round the 12 then back inside the covering winger to score 10 m left of the posts. Whitby dutifully converted to make the score 0-7.
Five minutes later, an Old Hales scrum, which for once was not being driven backward by Stratford, was kicked and the ball dribbled into touch on Stratford’s 5 m. The clearance from the defensive lineout allowed Old Hales onto them, and a couple of penalties led to a kick being opted for in front of the posts, just inside Stratford’s 22, this made the score 3-7. In the next 25-minute period Stratford continued to have the majority of the ball, and on their third venture into Old Hales red zone, Stratford got the ball over the line following some pick-and-goes, but it was held up by the Old Hales defence.
On Stratford next possession into the red zone, following a scrum option at a penalty, the ball was taken right twice, and then back to the left, exposing a three on two; Whitby occupying the first, but Jamie Jones final pass to winger George Fox was adjudged to be forward, with James also already having drawn the last man, to the disappointment of all Stratford onlookers. Not long after the half ended, following an Old Hales penalty kick that made the score 6-7, meaning somehow, they were still well in the match. The kick came about after a Stratford attack in the other half saw a pass go to ground, which was kicked on by an opportunist Old Hales back, before an eventual penalty was one in Stratford 22.
The second half was awash with scrums, lineouts, penalties and missed opportunities on a day with a relatively strong wind, Old Hales being one of the highest pitches in the West Midlands, seeing countless lineouts over-thrown or not straight enough for the referee to overlook. An Old Hales team who had been conceding a lot of points recently did well to stunt Stratford’s attacks, with many ending without the ball making it to the intended winger who may have otherwise got more points on the board.
With both teams emptying their bench relatively soon into the second half, things unfortunately didn’t improve much for either side’s attacks. Stratford did well to keep Old Hales from scoring any tries on the occasions they were tested, showing that both sets of defences had learnt lessons from the season so far, being tied on points and ahead of the match and in the bottom half of the table. It was almost 20 minutes into the second half before the score changed, with Whitby extending Stratford’s lead out to 6-10 following a penalty. This was shortly matched by Old Hales bringing them back within a point, 9-10.
10 minutes from the end of the match, after Stratford had had sustained possession in the Old Hales 22 end in a turnover penalty cleared by Old Hales, Stratford finally got a try, outside centre Powell scoring his second of the day. Old Hales took the lineout and progressed to the halfway line before pressure from substitute Jonny Smith caused a knock-on and put Stratford back on the attack. Two phases down the left touchline, then another back infield allowed the Stratford backline to have readjusted into a more attacking shape, Nathan Geekie making an out the back pass to Whitby, who stepped his man, drew the next and fed the ball to Jo Cook. One more pass to Powell gave him the little space he needed, still needing to dart between three defenders, running into the 22 and scoring to the right of the posts.
The half ended in a similar fashion to the first, with Old Hales successfully kicking a penalty to bring the score back within seven, earning them a bonus point, 12-17. A familiar story for Stratford feeling like they had not made the most of their opportunities knowing their next game is the rearranged fixture at top of the league Newent RFC. Outside centre Charlie Powell was awarded Player of the Match, scoring two tries at the end of a week where he had been unwell.
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. George Fox* 12. Dan Whitby 13. Charlie Powell* 14. Ethan Cook* 15. Jo Cook* Subs: 16. Geoff Dyson* 17. Jonny Smith* 18. Ollie Pearson*
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