Staines 3 Bishop's Stortford 1st XV 66

The opening minutes of the game were marked by some aimless kicking from Stortford, repeatedly giving the ball away to a feisty home side and a continued tendency, when passes were attempted to see the long ball as the first option. It took 7 minutes for any semblance of structure to be found and then it was a combination of simple, short passes and good support play with Steve Ball, an Aldam (!) and Hamish Irving prominent that stretched the Staines defence and quick passing to the backs allowed John Stocker to step in to score a try close to the posts. Tom Coleman had no problem in kicking the conversion. The next score was not long in coming, as Jimmy Rea touched down out wide 4 minutes later, after a good break up the middle by Jonno Child and a well-judged and delivered pass to Stocker, who committed the last defender and put his winger clear. Coleman's conversion attempt went narrowly wide. Yet another aimless kick out of defence by the visitors, however, was finally punished by Staines, who had acres of space to run the ball back and forced a penalty at the resultant breakdown. The three points were taken from in front of the posts. Another period of fairly scrappy rugby followed and it was a further 14 minutes before the next score fell to Sam Winter, dummying his way over for a try under the posts from a position set up by a quick tap penalty taken by Sam Coleman on the Staines 22. Brother Tom made no mistake with the conversion to take the score to 3-19. The next try followed after only 2 minutes, when Hamish Irving finished off a good burst of interpassing between the forwards in which Scott Romaine (with a turnover tackle), Mark McCraith and substitute backrow, Damien Sangster (on shortly before for Ball)were prominent. Coleman again added the two points to take the score to 3-26, which is how the half finished.

Playing into the breeze in the second half, there was less temptation for the visitors to kick the ball and the team did seem to be playing with more cohesion. The first score of the half fell to Child after 5 minutes, when Rea, cutting in off his wing, took a short pass from his flyhalf to burst through the heart of the home defence and give a good pass to the other winger. Coleman made an excellent conversion from the touchline. The next try went to Rea himself 17 minutes into the half, as quick hands by the midfield following a scrum taken against the head allowed Stocker to give his wingman enough room to round the last defender and touch down close to the posts, giving Coleman an easy conversion. It was Stocker's turn to register the next try after 26 minutes, when a trademark long pass from substitute scrumhalf,Sam Whiffen (on only minutes before for Sam Coleman) after a Staines lineout was stolen, stretched the home defence sufficiently to allow the centre to crash straight through. Coleman, once again added the 2 points. Stortford were now starting to overwhelm a brave, but tiring home side and a storming run up the middle of the pitch by Will Roberts (on as a backrow substitute for Chris Aldam) directly from the restart made some 30 metres and found Irving in support. The second row managed to break a further tackle and found Stocker running a great support line, which allowed the centre to run in under the posts for his third try, which Coleman duly converted. Seven minutes later and it was Sam Winter bagging his second try after Child had made good ground down the right wing and committed the last defender before setting the fullback clear for the line. Coleman's conversion took the score past 60. Winter completed his hat trick only two minutes later, when he had to work considerably harder for the score, having to crash through three defenders, after Child had been stopped some 8 meters short of the line. This time the conversion attempt by Coleman from out wide rebounded off the touchline to leave the final score at 3-66.

Next week's match at home against table-topping Dorking will be a significantly stiffer challenge, but if Stortford can show the confidence in their close support play that emerged as today's game went on and have the patience needed to break down the strong Dorking defence, a win is certainly possible.