Stafford welcomed Stoke to the Cathedral for a season opening cup clash. The visitors play in the league above the home side and Stafford would have to be at the top of their game in the first competitive match of the new season.

Initial Stoke pressure proved too much for the home side as the visitors grabbed an early unconverted try. Stafford soon found their rhythm working their way back into the encounter, a thundering Tom May charge saw him battering through ex-team mates and a hasty defence to bite deep into the Stoke half. The home side go their reward through a Jayson Trevis penalty to narrow the scores. An unconverted try from the visitors re-established the lead, but Stafford continued to defend solidly, holding their own against a well-practiced Stoke XV and looking very dangerous at times.

Stafford started the second half at a furious pace that saw Stoke caught on the back foot. Tom Hamplett smashed his way through the defenders and a surging set of forwards poured through the gap, Tom Bell crashing across the line for the try, Jayson Trevis slotting the conversion to level the scores. A Stoke penalty snatched back the lead, but a bruising period of play saw the Stafford pack mauling their way towards the line and only just falling agonisingly short of the score. A further penalty for the visitors followed by two tries effectively put the game beyond the home side. The last twist of the afternoon saw Stoke reduced to 14 men courtesy of a yellow card but this lead to uncontested scrums which benefited the visitors and disrupted a battling Stafford who continued to contest to the final whistle.

Another good performance for Stafford against higher league opposition, the score line masking a tightly contested game. There were periods when Stafford were devastating in their attack and the defence remained solid throughout.