STAFFORD 1ST XV vs TAMWORTH 1ST XV. 16TH NOVEMBER 2019. LEAGUE MATCH.

Stafford welcomed Tamworth to Coopers Park for the next instalment in the league fixture calendar. The last five league meetings between the teams had seen a fairly equal sharing of the spoils with each side taking roughly half of the wins. The visitors were experiencing a complicated season with two good wins and four losses leaving them in the bottom half of the table.

Early Stafford pressure saw a settling Tamworth backtracking into their own half. The visitors were nearly undone by an exuberant Ben Chatfield tearing off down the wing and subsequently had to cope with the Stafford centres crashing through the middle of the defence. Eventually Tamworth conceded a penalty, which Christian Ureche stepped up to slot between the uprights. Tamworth responded with some good attacking rugby which saw Stafford defending strongly on their own line. The home side remained impenetrable grinding down the attack to regain possession of the ball and earn a scrum. Carl Williams battered his way forward to release Sam Egerton whose feinting shredded through any defence, Louis Dewsbury continued to eat up the yards leaving Dan Mills to cross the line for an end to end try. A flying Christian Ureche took the next opportunity outstripping the opposition to just be bought down short of the line. Consistent Stafford harassment disrupted the line out to earn a penalty. A quick tap released Ben Chatfield who burst through the hard-working defenders to take the second try of the afternoon, converted by Christian Ureche. The visitors settled back into playing some solid rugby and got their first points on the board through a penalty. A yellow card reduced Stafford to a temporary fourteen on the pitch. Tamworth pressure saw the East Midlands side crossing the line for a certain try but tenacious Stafford tackling dislodged the ball at the last moment to deny the score. The home side absorbed everything thrown at it and closed the half by again running the ball the length of the pitch to within touching distance of the Tamworth line. Stafford went into half time leading 15-3 and having had the better of the possession.

Stafford suffered another setback early in the second half when Josefa Maka had to be helped off the field with an injury. With a full fifteen back on the field the home side didn’t settle fast enough to contain a period of surging Tamworth play which culminated in a penalty to give the visitors their second points of the afternoon. The Stafford response was immediate, a Louis Dewsbury kick wreaking havoc and the chase up releasing Sam Egerton to cross the line but the referees whistle calling play back for the knock on. An infringement saw Tamworth temporarily reduced to fourteen through a yellow card. The visitors defended hard but a couple of attacks stretched them across the field before a series of passes left Christian Ureche to cross the line for a try which he then converted. Tamworth had to endure the barrage of the Stafford assaults. An attacking line out gave the home side another opportunity at the opposition line. A charging Dan Smith softened up the defence, Sam Egerton stepped around players to open a gap and Phil Kay smashed through anything remaining to take the fourth try and bonus point. With a full complement back on the pitch, Tamworth started to play some of their best rugby of the afternoon. With less than ten minutes on the clock, Stafford were defending strongly on their own line only to incur their second yellow card of the afternoon to leave them with fourteen on the pitch for the remainder of the game. Tamworth piled attack after attack on the home side defence but couldn’t find that final move to take them across the line. Stafford eventually turned over the ball and broke out from their own half to force Tamworth back into an exhausted defence. The visitors continued to put up a sizeable resistance but couldn’t keep out a ferocious surge by the Stafford forwards which saw Callum Hoy taking the final try to end the game.