WOLVERHAMPTON 1ST XV vs STAFFORD 1ST XV. 9TH NOVEMBER 2019. LEAGUE MATCH.

Stafford crossed borough boundaries for an away fixture against near neighbours Wolverhampton. The last five league meetings between the teams had the black country team very much in the driving seat having taken eighty percent of the wins with the county town team having found no success visiting Castlecroft for many years.

The November temperature drop and Saturday rainfall created a playing surface which was going to be testing for both teams. A slippery ball caused some inevitable minor errors to open the first half. Wolverhampton settled first starting to find some consistency until Ted Dining disrupted the flow to earn the first penalty of the afternoon, which was duly converted by Louis Dewsbury. Wolverhampton responded with some good phases built from a solid scrum platform and started to test the Stafford line. The home side forwards grew in confidence from each set piece, carrying hard across the pitch. The visitors responded with some audible physical resistance the collisions reverberating around the park. A catch and drive from Wolverhampton eventually muscled its way across the line for the first try of the afternoon. The Stafford reaction was immediate, the forwards countering the weighty inertia of the Wolverhampton set piece with a more mobile approach. Some superb handling released Alosio Yamoyamo whose boot launched the ball, with his follow up chase outstripping any defenders to claim the try and retake a narrow lead. An injury to Oscar Saunders could have disrupted the momentum but Stafford were able to bring on Rich Martin, returning to first team rugby after a prolonged absence, to fill the full back spot. A subsequent incident saw Stafford temporarily reduced to fourteen on the pitch courtesy of a yellow card when the referee witnessed the reaction rather than the initial piece of foul play. A Wolverhampton penalty nudged the home side back into the lead, before Louis Dewsbury closed the half with a Stafford penalty to make it a one-point game. In response to the weather, both teams returned to the changing rooms for a prolonged half time with Stafford nursing a fragile 10-11 lead.

With the sides returning to a sodden pitch, the second half began with the teams scrapping for territory. Neither could gain any significant advantage until Stafford were restored to a full fifteen on the pitch. The county town team fed on renewed energy, ramping up the pressure with a series of bruising carries pushing them deep into the Wolverhampton half. The home side conceded a number of penalties which left them anchored to their own line. In a series of over ten phases Stafford unleashed an assault of medieval ferocity, which was met with an equally primitive defence. Both teams endured the shock of the crushing impacts until Stafford brutalised their way across for a Carl Williams try. The visitors continued to play for long periods in the opposition half but the home side were constantly threatening. A break out move led to the heavy Wolverhampton forwards pushing over the Stafford line to snatch back a one-point lead. The momentum of the game was changing, with less than ten minutes on the clock the home side took their final try of the game to a thunderous ovation from the Wolverhampton supporters. Stafford wouldn’t lie down, continuing to chase an equalising score. Some ferocious running pushed Wolverhampton back into defending their own line. With the final minutes ticking away a strong Stafford surge carried the ball across the line, but an unsighted referee couldn’t see the grounded ball and the try wasn’t awarded. A tenacious defence endured the barrage until a minor mistake saw Wolverhampton kicking the ball into touch to end an entertaining afternoon of rugby.