TELFORD HORNETS 1ST XV vs STAFFORD 1ST XV. 3RD FEBRUARY 2024. LEAGUE.

Stafford travelled across the county border to Shropshire for the first game of February. Hosting were a Telford side having a reasonable season with five wins out of fifteen. The teams were separated by just five points in the league, but the home side benefitting from a game in hand on their opponents. Encounters between the sides had been very passionate over the years, so it promised to be a competitive afternoon of rugby.

The ground was slightly sticky in patches making footing interesting for both teams. The County Town team took to the pitch in their seldom used away strip of Red & Black. The opening forays saw two evenly matched sides clashing across the pitch. Stafford worked their way to an early advantage and pin point kicking bought them to within sight of the hosts try line. The opposition defended strongly but couldn’t stop Adam Greaves from crashing across for the opening try of the game, converted by Alex Rock. Telford came roaring back and in a short period of managed to score two successive tries to snatch the lead. Stafford continued to play some bright periods of rugby and always looked dangerous when they were moving forward. But a smothering home side defence did an effective job of disrupting any continuity. Telford also couldn’t build any significant attacking plays but were benefiting from the referee’s whistle. As the half meandered to a ponderous close, the home side found themselves within kicking distance and added three points to their tally. Stafford went into half time trailing 15-7 in a close game of rugby which hadn't really ignited for either side.

Stafford came barrelling into the second half with some beautiful carries driving them deeply into opposition territory. The Telford defence scrambled to keep out the resurgent assault but they couldn’t clear the lines. Stafford launched a couple of probing attacks until eventually Obi Ley burrowed across for a try. The next twenty minutes was a fairly even affair with both sides defending and attacking across all areas of the pitch but neither getting a significant toehold. The tide started to turn when Stafford couldn’t get on the right side of the referee. A number of decisions went against the travelling XV leaving them marooned in an exhausting defence. Things went slightly worse when a high tackle culminated in a yellow card which temporarily reduced the Blackberry Lane travellers to fourteen with a quarter of an hour left on the clock. In a mirror of the first half Telford took two quick tries but aided by the continued punishment of the referee’s whistle. With a full compliment back on the pitch Stafford smashed through the hosts marching them back to their own try line. Despite some ferocious rugby Stafford still couldn’t convert the referee to their cause until eventually Telford incurred a yellow card to reduce their numbers for the final minutes. The County Town team unleashed wave after wave of brutal rugby but couldn’t find their way through an elusive defence. The referees whistle eventually called an end to a close game of rugby from which the Stafford effort didn’t deserve to come home empty handed.

Next 1st XV Match: Saturday 17rd February, Home vs Newcastle.