STAFFORD 1st XV vs OLD SALTLEIANS 1st XV. 6th FEBRUARY 2016.

Stafford 10 – 7 Old Saltleians

Stafford welcomed Old Salts to the county ground for the re-arranged home league fixture between the two sides. The visitors travelled holding second place in the league with only two losses in the campaign and an unblemished record against Stafford which boasted back to back wins for the last five seasons. A howling wind and driving rain added to an anticipated afternoon of hard rugby.

Several inspections of the pitch preceded the opening whistle with the sheeting rain adding to the difficult playing surface. Salts opened the game playing with the wind and in typical style a heavy set of forwards drove them deep into the opposition territory. Stafford anchored the defence on their own try line and repelled the aggressive assaults with a series of punishing tackles. A ferocious period of play ended with Stafford absorbing everything Salts threw at them and eventually being awarded the penalty. As the referee back pedalled, the treacherous surface caused him to slip and a subsequent injury led to a replacement referee being called in from the other home game. With Salts starting to find some success with the scrum they continued to pound the Stafford half. The visitors could have gone ahead through a penalty, but it rebounded off the crossbar. Salts had all of the possession but couldn’t break down the relentless Stafford defence and the half looked to be heading for a deadlock. The breakthrough for the visitors came courtesy of a yellow card for Stafford which reduced the home side to fourteen men. The county side team defended hard but eventually the visitors forced their way across the line for a converted try, the cry of victory from the Salts players echoing how hard they had to work to get any points. Stafford went into half time trailing 0 – 7 and having had very little possession but displaying a tenacious defence.

Now playing with the wind Stafford opened the half with an assault of their own, pinning Salts in their own 22. With the team back up to fifteen players the home side besieged the travelling XV. Probing assaults ripped open the defence line and a flying Will Hamplett tore down the wing for the try, Rich Martin adding the conversion to tie the game. The match settled into an impasse as both teams traded attacks and the momentum moved between the teams. Stafford grabbed hold of the game through their forwards keeping the ball tight and smashing their way inch by inch up the pitch until the opposition line was in sight. All of the hard work looked to have been for nothing as the visitors repelled the final attack and claimed possession of the ball, but a subsequent penalty saw a cool headed Rich Martin step up and give Stafford a deserved lead. Salts fought hard during the final five minutes but the Stafford defence was unbreakable and held out until the final whistle signalled a historic victory.