Sat 15 Feb 2025
Stratford were on the road again this week, this time heading up to Shropshire to take on Whitchurch RFC with Stratford hoping to continue to separate themselves from the bottom 4-5 in the league table.
10 minutes in and Stratford were put under pressure following what the referee gave as a 50-22 and therefore lineout to Whitchurch, just outside the Stratford 5 m line, despite the ruck that the ball was passed back from being in the Stratford half. Stratford got the ball back, but a skewed clearance kick led to a penalty, and a Whitchurch lineout on the opposite 5 m line however, with this not being thrown straight Stratford were given a chance to exit with a scrum. A few phases later and lock Geoff Dyson (Dr David Derbyshire) threw a dummy and raced between the two Whitchurch props making it all the way to the 10 m line before passing to Jamie Jones (Unsponsored), who was taken down on halfway-a delightful, though unexpected, successful red zone exit.
Five minutes later, starting with a lineout just inside Whitchurch half, Stratford were able to build the phase count following a lineout drive; they had another six phases working Whitchurch back and forth across the pitch. Having done this, with space created on the left the ball went through flyhalf Nathan Geekie (IP Building Services) to the overlapping full-back Jo Cook (Jon Tarrant), who was able to step inside one man before taking the next man out with a pass to Jones. Jones did the same thing to the Whitchurch full-back executing a pass to left-wing George Fox (Unsponsored) to go in to score in the corner, a great team move to get the scoreboard ticking over. Sadly, the conversion was missed by kicker Dan Whitby (Matt Hunt).
In what was otherwise an uneventful first half that saw no more scores; a step and line break by Ollie Pearson (Richard Pearson) on the blindside of a scrum in the Stratford 22; a lineout maul drive exceeding 15 m, from just inside the Whitchurch half; and a grubber kick through centerfield by Geekie were particular highlights. This grubber kick was toed on into the goal area by 13 Andy Oliver (Jason Savage), who was just beaten to the touchdown by the covering Whitchurch player and had seen Stratford go from one end of the pitch to the other, though with a few mistakes and setbacks in between.
Shortly before half-time back-row Zak Hamersley (Grettons Gardening Services) came on for the injured Oliver, taking up a position on the wing, with Pearson moving into the centre alongside experienced vice-captain Whitby. At half-time, Zak Amond (Richard Pepperell) was also introduced to keep the pack fresh and help ensure the backs continue to receive clean ball. This plan didn’t go quite as I hoped when captain Tom Stanley (Wright Engineering) received a yellow card just outside the Stratford 22 and a lineout from the resulting penalty allowed the Whitchurch forwards to drive over and tie the score in the right-hand corner. Now 5-5 with the conversion dragged across the face of the post.
With George Fox finally succumbing to his injured arm, a slight hangover from last week’s match, he was replaced by Richard Pepperell at centre with Pearson moving back to the wing with at least 35 minutes to get through only having use of one active forward from the bench. Contrary to the bleak picture just painted, from the kick-off Stratford forced a poor clearance, with the kick going straight into touch, giving Stratford a lineout just outside the Whitchurch 22. The ball went up to the first jumper, came down and was secured by Angus Wightman (Pearcecroft Trust) who, noticing a gap, peeled off from the left down the blindside and went inside the covering scrum-half and full-back to score. Whitby was unsuccessful with the wide-angled conversion so the score stayed at 5-10.
Wightman’s try was not too dissimilar to his try the week before away at Newent, though unfortunately, three phases after the restart he joined Stanley in the bin with the referee having seen enough transgressions at the ruck. Stratford now two forwards down, Whitchurch turned down the easy points in front of the post and opted for a scrum to really apply some pressure and almost pulled it off but for the ball being held up over the line by a scrambling defence. After keeping the pressure on in the corner, Whitchurch spread the ball wide and the referee penalised and binned full-back Cook for being offside. Thankfully Stratford were not down to 12 though, as Cook’s binning coincided with the return of prop Stanley and meant they continued with 13.
Stratford, though defending valiantly in trying circumstances, did go on to concede from the next scrum penalty option, with Whitchurch going in 15 m from the right post after spreading the ball that way. They successfully converted the try to move ahead 12-10. This was however the only score before Stratford were returned 14, surviving until the return of Wightman, thanks to some real hard graft. Stratford new what they needed to do, with around 10-15 minutes left to come back from a losing position.
From a lineout, Stratford went on the offence, securing another lineout just inside the Whitchurch 22 with the winger losing the ball into touch whilst trying to set off a counterattack of his own. A penalty at a ruck following the lineout ruck allowed the attack to continue with a 5 m lineout increasing the pressure on Whitchurch, with the referee also restoring Stratford back to the full complement, with the return of 15 Cook before the restart of play. The backs weren’t required on this occasion though, the lineout was secured at the front, brought down and driven on a slight angle in towards the post and over the try line, allowing prop Michael Dawes (Duncan Dawes Farms Ltd) to drop to the floor and score. Despite the conversion going narrowly wide, Stratford now led 12-15.
Stratford saw out the rest of the match, though not having much of the ball, they were compact and hard to break down with the lads able to get into the normal defensive structure possibly even finding the last five minutes easier, despite being tired, having coped for so long with men missing. After securing a scrum, Stratford kicked the ball into touch to win the match 12-15! Man of the Match went to open side flanker Jamie Jones, whose youthful exuberance and energy stores helped fill the defensive gaps when people were missing. Stratford now have a break weekend with the return of the Six Nations, before a home derby against highflying Shipston on Stour on March 1.
Stratford: 1. Michael Dawes* 2. Ben Cole* 3. Tom Stanley* 4. Geoff Dyson* 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. Andy Oliver 14. Ollie Pearson* 15. Jo Cook* Subs: 16. Zak Amond. 17. Zak Hamersley 18. Richard Pepperell
*Denotes a product of Stratford minis and juniors
