The match was barely 2 minutes old, when the home side took a 5 point lead after Stortford turned over attacking ball, conceded a penalty at the breakdown and then failed to tackle elusive Clifton flyhalf, Mackay whose sharp break required only an accurate long pass to put his rightwinger in for a try. On 14 minutes the deficit was increased to 12 points, when Stortford failed to deal with a speculative kick into their own 22 and unnecessarily conceded a lineout, from which a strong driving maul took the home pack over, with Mackay adding the conversion. The visitors now started to work their way back into the game, managing to produce some of their trademark 15-man running rugby, but it took until the 26th minute for winger John Neville to register a score, touching down under the posts, after cutting a great angle and taking a perfectly-timed inside pass from Nick Hankin, after the fullback had made a searing break down the middle. Tom Banks added the two points. Stortford now enjoyed a period of dominance and twice came very close to adding further tries, which might well have seen a different outcome to the game. Twelve minutes later and Clifton were reduced to 14 men, when their No 6 was sin-binned for collapsing an excellent Stortford driving maul off a good long lineout throw, which had already travelled forwards some 15 metres to take it close to the try line. Stortford’s dominant pack forced a further penalty and a freekick at scrums, before the home pack managed to hold the push on the third set piece and force Stortford to spin the ball out. The reprieve, though was extremely short-lived, however, with Hankin squirming his way over the try line off the second pass. Banks’ conversion attempt flew only narrowly wide. Clifton, despite having been on the back foot for most of the previous quarter of an hour surged back onto the attack and Mackay gave them a three point halftime lead with a penalty for offside under the visitors’ posts.

Stortford started the second period confidently running through several phases of interpassing to work their way up to wards halfway after a long restart kick. Unfortunately, a seemingly harsh penalty for not releasing the ball after a tackle was awarded and the visitors once again found their line under heavy pressure. This time, though resistance was stout, but was frustrated some 5 minutes later, when another penalty - apparently (according to the appeal heard from a Clifton player) for careless use of a boot at a ruck Stortford had won - gave Mackay another 3 points. Undaunted, Stortford fought back and forced a penalty try, as their pack drove for the Clifton line. Banks’ conversion took his side into the lead for the first time after 11 minutes of the half. This was soon turned into a two point deficit, however, with another three points conceded to Mackay’s unerring boot for another breakdown offence. A yellow card for a dangerous tackle by a Clifton second row seemed to swing the balance back Stortford’s way after 17 minutes of the half and their bonus-point try was duly scored some three minutes later by flanker, Richard Gill, bursting off the back of a driving maul. The conversion attempt again went wide, leaving the lead at only 3 points and this was turned into a 4 point deficit before the sin bin period had elapsed. A lineout was needlessly conceded just in Stortford’s own half and some smart - but unexceptional - hard straight running and interpassing saw Clifton’s No 4 in for an all too easy try, well converted again by Mackay. The scoring was rounded off after 35 minutes with another converted try – this time to Clifton’s No 12, capitalising on two bad handling errors in Stortford’s midfield under heavy pressure from an extremely sharp defensive line. The visitors launched themselves into a concerted attack and forced their way into the Clifton 22 but, in a final act of defiance, the home pack, under severe pressure for almost the whole afternoon managed to get an edge at a Stortford scrum and forced a relieving penalty. This extinguished any lingering hopes Stortford’s many travelling supporters might have cherished of a second bonus point being salvaged.

Despite performing well below their own high standards for long periods of this game, Stortford might well have come out of it with much more than the one bonus point, but for individual errors of judgement at crucial junctures. The squad will doubtless be working hard in the week to see that these will not be in evidence next week, when we host newly-promoted Old Elthamians – a much-changed side since we played them the season before last!