STAFFORD 1ST XV vs SILHILLIANS 1ST XV. 12TH OCTOBER 2019. MIDLANDS INTERMEDIATE CUP ROUND 3.

Stafford welcomed Silhillians to Castle Fields for the third round of the intermediate cup. The two team haven’t been in the same league since 2012/13 which was the Silhillians promotion winning season. The last time the teams met in the cup was 24th September 2011 when Stafford travelled down the M42 to snatch a narrow one-point win 29-30.

The opening spiralling Silhillians kick off was secured by Stephen Frost, the ball was shipped through hands for Sefanaia Bulumakau to tear through the defence and a final pass to Christian Ureche took the try. Silhillians weren’t allowed to settle and the restart pinned them deep into their own half. Some strong scrummaging tested the defence before the clinical back line whipped the ball across the pitch for Sefanaia Bulumakau to take the second try of the game, converted by Christian Ureche. A Stafford scrum taken against the head set the platform for the next attack which ended in a penalty slotted through the uprights by Christian Ureche to stretch the lead. With 15 minutes slipping by on the clock the game paused to take a breath allowing both teams to realign. Some strong Silhillian play drove them into the home side half for the first time in the game, simple passing rugby stretched the defence and found its reward through a try. The visitor’s resurgence was abruptly halted when an errant hand slapped down an attacking Stafford ball to earn a yellow card temporarily reducing them to a battling fourteen on the pitch. Christian Ureche took the penalty to add to a growing lead. The home side attack continued at a devastating pace, but the visitors dug deep and absorbed everything being thrown at them until a full Silhillian complement could be restored to the pitch. An almost immediate second yellow card temporarily reduced the travelling side back down to fourteen and the disruption allowed a stalking Alosio Yamoyamo to crash over for a try, converted by Christian Ureche. Stafford wouldn’t allow Silhillians to get any continuity, with the forwards battering down anything in their path backed up by a merciless back line. A particularly savage period of attacks ended with a five-meter scrum for the home side, a good nudge released the restless backs and Ted Dinning crossed in the corner for the final try of the half. Stafford went into half time leading 30-5 and very much in control of the game.

The second half saw a much more competitive start with Silhillians having the better of the territory and forcing the home side to clear their lines on several occasions. The Stafford defence proved to be as fierce as the attack blunting everything thrown at it until eventually, it grudgingly gave way for Silhillians to snatch their second try of the game. This reignited the Stafford attack who bullied their way up the pitch to camp out under the opposition posts, a couple of attempts softened up the defence until a stubborn surge by Sefanaia Bulumakau clawed across the line for a try. Some outrageous handling by Stafford mesmerised the visitors and kept the tempo high, the sleek hands eventually pushing the ball into Dan Mills who smashed through anything still standing for a try, converted by Christian Ureche. A small amount of niggle crept into the game with a couple of minor off the ball incidents before an impetuous retaliation from Stafford earned an unfortunate red card. With 5 minutes left on the clock the response was to ignore the continuing needle and play flowing rugby from which the Silhillian defence could find no respite. The final score came courtesy of an Alosio Yamoyamo break which unleashed Dan Mills to leave the chasing defenders lying prone on the floor gasping for air as he took the final try of the game, converted by Louis Dewsbury.