Sat 10 Oct 2026, 15:00
Stratford 66-29 Alcester
Stratford welcomed Alcester to Pearcecroft this in what turned out to be a very high scoring game, Gallagher Prem style. With only two changes to last week starting XV the Stratford team could continue to build on the connections between each other that come with consistency.
Early in the match, with Stratford dominating a reset scrum in the Alcester 22, pushing them back and wrapping up the ballcarrier, Alcester did their best to clear but the wind in cahoots with a sliced kick allowed Stratford to set up a lineout driving maul. Ball secured and one phase to the right saw Stratford spread it back to the left to find Michael Dawes waiting to crash over the line in the corner. Alcester got themselves back in it though five minutes later with multiple phases on the left drawing in the defenders, they spread it to the right to score 10 m from the corner to make the score 5-5.
Stratford moved back in the lead when they gained a penalty in the Alcester 22, opted for a scrum as a sure base, and worked their way towards the left. Continual hard running lines by the forwards gave the backs space to spread the ball wide and a little pop from captain Gwil Davis to his right put outside centre Dan Whitby in under the sticks to score, and convert, to make the score 12-5.
Jamie Jones, starting no 8 in the absence of Jonny Smith was next on the scoresheet. After pressuring Alcester into a penalty in their own 22, Stratford opted for the lineout and drove infield from it. Three phases later Jones was dotting down in the corner and Whitby added the extras; despite the more difficult kicking side for the right footed centre.
Alcester then hit back, with two tries bringing them level to show why they were close to promotion from the league last year and demonstrate that once inside the opposition 22 they could make over the whitewash 19-19. Stratford needed to reset after this, with 30 minutes gone, the game was not over, and they mustn’t allow their local rivals to take the lead.
The next, and final, score before half-time was a moment of magic just outside the Alcester 22 by fly half Seb Hillard as he chipped the ball just over the heads of the onrushing defence to collect behind them and run 20 yards in under the post, allowing the simple conversion. 26-19 going into half-time, with Stratford disallowed a further try in the corner with the final part being called forward.
The opening score in the second half was a carbon copy of the first, though this time made possible by a fantastic 50-22 from Hillard giving Stratford a great platform for a 5 m driving lineout. On this occasion Zak Amond was the scorer, despite the assumption that the thrower (Tom Stanley) would normally take the ball to score. Whitby duly converted, 33-19. Five minutes later Stratford were back there again following another superb kick, but on this occasion couldn’t make it count with Alcester’s try line defence staying firm.
With the captains being brought to the middle for a second time to calm the players down and try and quiet any building tensions, it was clear this was a rivalry that meant something to the players. New to the Stratford squad this season, Noah MacDonald was next on the scoresheet whilst Alcester were trying to play out of their half, Stratford turned the ball over at a ruck. Scrum-half Dan Lewis took a quick tap to keep up the tempo and, after multiple phases and a further penalty advantage, a sweeping backs move to the left allowed the try in the corner. Sadly, too wide for Whitby to add the extras, 38-19.
Alcester down but not out, brought it back to within two scores by scoring to the left of the posts following a powerful forward run into the Stratford 22. Wanting to finally put the game to bed, Stratford then went on a try scoring run with Amond and McDonald getting further tries before Toby Mendes got his first of the season.
The first came following a midfield turnover that Whitby punted down into the corner, Stratford kept the pressure on and won a penalty, a second penalty allowed to kick to the corner and set up a driving maul. Amond took the ball at the back and collected the score; a relatively short walk compared to some of the bruising runs he’d been on in the match so far. The second, MacDonald’s, came following a centre field scrum that saw the play go right before back to the left where Captain Davis drew his man and popped it sideways again allowing the MacDonald to take on and beat the 15 before curving in towards the post.
The third of these tries came following an overthrown lineout by Alcester, gathered just past halfway by Stratford, they spread the ball further left stretching the defence. With the ball moving back to midfield, Mendes spotted a large gap between two forward defenders and went for it, then waltzing around the 15 to score under the posts and put Stratford out to 59-24 league. In what had already been high scoring game, with only five minutes left there was still time for two more tries.
Stratford failed to deal with the restart and a hopeful Alcester player took it above his head and charged another 10 m before being brought down. They spread it to the left but were denied in the corner by what the referee penalised as a high tackle, but not a penalty-try. Opting for the tap and go, Alcester ran multiple phases, drawing in defenders, before they spread it to the right followed by a pass back inside by their fly half, saw them score just to the left of the posts.
Another booming kick downfield by Hillard, a relative theme of the game along with the bundling runs of Stratford forwards, saw Alcester trying to play out of their own half once again. With pride on the line, despite already having their bonus point score, Alcester’s fly half, buoyed by his recent assist, tried to play it wide quickly with a two-man mis-pass that possibly caught out his own team. Not one man though, Hillard quick off the mark, plucked the ball from the air just above his head and raced to the try line. The conversion was the final act of the game, Stratford 66-29 Alcester.
Despite Hillard’s last gasp try, he was not awarded man of the match two weeks in a row with that honour instead being shared between prop Tom Stanley and lock/prop Zak Amond. The tries were an almost even split between forwards and backs, but you couldn’t deny the domination in the scrum and powerful runs by the Stratford pack allowed the backs the perfect platform.
Next up, another home game, with Barkers Butts heading over to Stratford.
Stratford XV: 1. Michael Dawes* (VC) 2. Dom Wan 3. Tom Stanley* 4. James Walton 5. Zak Amond* 6. Lawrence Birch* 7. Toby Mendes 8. Jamie Jones * 9. Dan Lewis* 10. Seb Hillard* 11. Charlie Billings* 12. Gwil Davis* (C) 13. Dan Whitby 14. Noah MacDonald* 15. Charlie Powell* (VC) 16. James Paterson* 17. Mike Hickey 18. Chay Pusey*
*Denotes product of Stratford minis and juniors
Other results: Stratford Colts 15-29 Leamington Colts; Ealing Trailfinders U16s 19-38 Stratford U16s; Stratford Flames 4 wins; Stratford Fury 1 win, 2 losses.
