Basingstoke 20 Bishop's Stortford 1st XV 25

Starting with 4 changes from last week's already injury-hit side, this was always going to be a tough game against a Basingstoke side battling to escape from the relegation zone. Early signs were not good for the visitors, as a poor chase of a loose kick back from the opening drop-out saw Basingstoke bursting into the Stortford half, where they forced a penalty at the tackle. Fortunately for Stortford, the kick at goal into and across a strong wind drifted by the post. After 7 minutes, the visitors finally got into the game, forcing a Basingstoke knock-on in mid field, on which flanker, Tom Stokely quickly seized to feed winger, Simon Wasley. He needed no second invitation to run at the two defenders facing him and, forcing them back in the tackle fed centre, Ben de Grandis, looping round the outside to run round for a try under the posts. Tom Coleman duly converted and, on 20 minutes extended the lead to ten points with a penalty when Basingstoke killed the ball at a tackle. There now followed, however, a succession of penalties against Stortford for a variety of offences at breakdowns and the price was duly paid half an hour into the game, when prop, Oli Day was yellow carded. Within a minute of going down to 14 men, the visitors conceded a try with Basingstoke taking advantage of the disruption to the hitherto more powerful opposition scrum to feed Coach, Junior Paramore, standing in as an emergency inside centre and he merely held his ground to feed his fullback, Ashley Paterson, who went over under the posts virtually untouched. The conversion took the score to 7-10, which is how the half finished.

Turning to play into the strong wind and with their ears still ringing from Coach, Peter Engledow's vehement halftime talk, Stortford flew into the opposition from the whistle and drew a further 5 points ahead after 3 minutes with a try to second row, David Rose, making his return to the side after several weeks' absence. Wasley was, once again instrumental in the try, making the final pass after a forceful burst from de Grandis. Any inspiration which the Stortford players might have taken from the break quickly dissolved, however, when an almost comical series of handling errors was made, as they tried in vain to run their way out of their own 22. The end result was a turnover and the concession of yet another penalty for falling over the ball at a ruck. The successful kick at goal took the score to 10-15 and the gap was reduced to only 2 points 5 minutes later, when Damian Sangster was penalised for blatantly entering the side of a ruck. Twelve minutes into the half, Stortford's 5 point lead was restored via another Coleman kick after a good run by winger, Harry Marner forced a penalty, when he was not released at the tackle. Basingstoke missed a golden opportunity to register their own penalty 8 minutes later and when Stortford scored their third try after 25 minutes, it looked as if the game might be under control. This time first half provider, Wasley became the try scorer, bursting over near the corner after taking a long pass on the 22 from Coleman, who added an excellent conversion directly into the teeth of the gale. The visitors seemed to gain in confidence and looked much the more likely side to score, until a complete mix-up from a promising position out on the right wing saw possession turned over to Basingstoke but still well in their own half. The Stortford backs were unable to snuff out the counter attack at source and the home winger, Steven Edwards burst away. Despite a couple of good covering tackles, the home side's threequarters were able to pass out of them and set their replacement fly half free to run round for a try under the posts. The conversion brought the lead down to less than one score and the Stortford players might have been forgiven for tensing up at this stage but, instead they surged back onto the attack and proceeded to camp in the Basingstoke half for three or four minutes. They were unable, though to force their way through some desparate home defending, despite a number of phases right on the try line and eventually possession was lost through a knock-on. The home side were very quick to capitalise and broke out via a clever chip kick from scrum half, James Platt, which was fielded by right winger, Matt Guilfoyle and excellent support saw the ball swing all the way across the pitch, setting Edwards on the opposite wing totally free but some 40 metres out. It looked for all the world as if he would run in an equalising try and it took a tremendous cover tackle from substitute wing, Lewis Codling to halt the attack inside his own 22. This was not the end of the danger, however, and it was now Basingstoke's turn to set up camp on the opposition's try line. As at Staines two weeks ago, the final three minutes of the game were spent in desperate last ditch defence and once again the side's character came through to see them home by forcing a knock-on as the final incident of the game.

Overall, this was a much-improved performance over last week - especially playing into the strong wind in the second half and the same level of commitment will be called for again next week, when the side travels to Havant in search of a third away win in a row.