WILLENHALL 1ST XV vs STAFFORD 1ST XV. 7TH OCTOBER 2023. STAFFORDSHIRE INTERMEDIATE CUP.

Stafford took a cup trip to Bognop Road for a rare fixture against Willenhall. The teams last met in the 2017/18 season with Stafford holding the home & away league victories together with a cup win. Willenhall were having a good league season with three wins and two losses seeing the team in a strong fourth position. Stafford fielded a very transient team with experimental positions for some but still with one surviving player who played all three games against the hosts in the season they last met.

Willenhall opened the game with a period of pressure from their heavy machinery up front. The home side scrum was very dangerous and built the platform for many of the upcoming assaults. A battering set of forwards blitzed their way to several penalties which left a dazed Stafford rooted to their own line. A yellow card for the County Town team temporarily reduced them to a defending fourteen adding to the visiting woes. Using the superior numbers, the bludgeoning Willenhall forwards eventually crossed the line for the opening try of the afternoon. Indiscipline then crept into the hosts and it was their turn to concede territory via a series of penalties. With a full compliment back on the pitch Stafford started to look lively and Willenhall were being stretched across the pitch. A superb piece of running play saw the ball shipped between hands and Colton McLaughlin smashed across for the equalising try, converted by Lewis Cantrill. Stafford had their tails up and looked dangerous when running the ball around the field. On his return to 1st XV rugby, Kevin Van-Der Leest tore through the opposition leaving the defence in disarray. A final pass found Ben Adams who tore away from tackling hands to take his debut first team try and the lead. A ridiculous reaction on the sideline saw Willenhall reduced to fourteen with a yellow card before the referee called a halt to the period. Stafford went into half time leading 5 – 12 but with neither side managing to dominate.

Willenhall reverted back to some uncomplicated crashing rugby in the second half. The team used their sizeable weight to rumble the ball up the field and two tries later, the hosts were starting to build a decent lead. Stafford tried to respond but couldn’t find any continuity in the fledgling XV on the field. The Willenhall scrum was proving particularly devastating and set the platform for a continuing number of attacks. Two penalties and a further try effectively put the game out of reach of the battling visitors. Demonstrating some finesse, pin point kicking started to punish a tiring Stafford. A yellow card reduced the visitors to a final fourteen before a final Willenhall try capped off what had been an excellent display of home side rugby in the second half.

Next 1st XV League Match; Saturday 14h October 2023, Away vs Kidderminster.