Stafford were on the road to Newcastle for the final league game of 2016. The county town team travelled looking for a win to break their recent string of losses. The hosts season was proving to be equally dramatic with a recent series of wins hauling them from the foot of the table to put them in contention for mid league safety.

The opening play of the game saw a well organised Newcastle chasing their own kick off and securing a penalty to take the earliest of leads. Stafford tried to respond to home side fervour but a yellow card disrupted the organisation, reducing the visitors to fourteen. A second yellow further reduced Stafford to thirteen and left the county side team struggling to gain any possession. Newcastle continued playing all of the rugby and an unconverted try should have heralded an avalanche of points for the dominant XV. Stafford had other ideas, shutting up shop and grinding out all of the energy from a swarming Newcastle attack. The Stafford XI frustrated the previously dominant home side and gradually inched their way to a Louis Dewsbury penalty, to cut the deficit. With XV back on the pitch the visitors were still defending deeply against a well drilled Newcastle attack, but a blast on the referee’s whistle saw the third yellow of the afternoon with the home side now being reduced to fourteen. Stafford started to play their brightest rugby of the game, a Matt Walklate break tearing through the defence and only the final pass just preventing the try. A second Louis Dewsbury penalty ate into a slender Newcastle lead and the half looked to be meandering towards a well-earned break for both teams. With a final twist to the half, a crunching tackle by the home side saw the first red card of the afternoon, with Newcastle being permanently reduced to fourteen for the remainder of the match. Stafford went into half time trailing by 8-6, but having weathered some ferocious periods of dominance by Newcastle.

The second half opened with both sets of forwards crashing into each other and the fourth yellow card of the afternoon reducing Newcastle to thirteen. Stafford snatched the lead through a Louis Dewsbury penalty and the county town travellers settled in to make the most of their numerical advantage. The visitors started to play some fluid rugby which Newcastle defended strongly against but couldn’t prevent Mike Davies and then Will Hamplett from crossing the line for unconverted tries and what was becoming a sizeable lead. With XIV back on the pitch Newcastle started to find some rhythm and laid siege to the Stafford line. The home side could have got back on the score board with two penalties, but both flew wide of the posts. A flurry of subsequent attacks saw Stafford conceding penalties and with a crescendo of punishing drives Newcastle crossed the line only to be denied by the referees whistle for a forward pass. The Stafford response was devastating as they broke out using fluid running rugby punching through a scrambling defence for Cal Lennon to cross the line for a team try, Louis Dewsbury adding the conversion. Stafford continued to pile on the pressure and a tiring Newcastle couldn’t prevent a flying Ollie Leigh from powering his way past a fighting defence for a fourth try and the bonus point. The final period of play was a disjointed affair with Newcastle earning the fifth and sixth yellow card of the afternoon to reduce them to a weary team of twelve on the pitch.