Edwardians Colts v Stafford Colts - 12.11.23

A flurry of second half tries gave Colts a very convincing win on the road.

It was a much-changed Stafford line up with no league game on offer - so the perfect opportunity to get more minutes on the pitch for some players often on the fringes of the starting team.
And it could not have begun better when on four minutes a penalty in the attacking 22 set up a couple of drives before being passed wide for Misa Veramu to go over. But If the Colts thought that score would lead to the floodgates opening they were very wrong as some handling errors punctuated the fluidity of their attack in the opening stages.
This may have lifted the home side and following a scrappy line out, and a quickly taken penalty, they leveled up the scores after 20 minutes - although that was to be the last time they would be in this contest.
A few minutes later centre James Lynk was the recipient of another bout of strong Stafford pressure when he popped up on a good line to dive over. Dylan Shrehorn added the simple two points.
The boggy ground and drizzly rain were the host’s best chance of getting something from the match with the conditions suiting their large forward line.
Any chance of them clawing their way back in the game was soon snuffed out as Tom Brodrick and Shrehorn combined to make a try saving tackle with the home side inches from the line. The Colts also bolstered their pack with Will Smith coming on to provide more stability against a good Edwardian’s scrum.
Before half time Stafford increased the lead with Ellis Millard pacing clear from a Shrehorn pass after some powerful play by second row James Reay and prop Farai Munjodzi.
In the first half junior Colt Harry Churchill played for Edwardians, who were a player short, and hooker Ashton Guy did the honours after the break. Both were possibly the stand-out players for the home team in what was to become a very one-sided affair.
And the match appeared dead and buried within the opening exchanges of the second half. Millard completing his brace after he collected a wayward opposition kick and composed himself to go over - taking a late kick in the head for his troubles which saw the already struggling home side down to 14 men.
The next try, just after the 40-minute mark, summed up the gulf in ability between the sides. Another quick penalty was delivered to Finn Osmant and from 25 metres out the strong centre may never score an easier try as he ran through the middle without the defence laying a glove on him - with Shrehorn making no mistake from the conversion.
The game was now running away from Edwardians as first the versatile Shrehorn, then substitute Sebastian Conaghan, and finally try-machine Jack Raines all scored with mazy runs from in and around their own half leaving the opposition defenders trailing in their wake in a 10-minute burst.
The 5-50 scoreline did not flatter the Colts and with minutes left on the clock Churchill took advantage of another quick penalty to crash through the centre and under the posts - leaving an easy conversion for Conaghan.

Coaches Comments:
We were very pleased with the result. We knew the weather and the pitch would be the best leveller and did not want to fall into an arm wrestle with Edwardians as they had a big pack with some big lads.
We managed the game well especially with some out of position, and others playing in different positions during the game - and we played some very nice rugby. Our forwards stood up against a very big pack who dominated the scrums to begin with. And another positive was that our line outs were good today.
I have to mention Harry and Ashton for putting themselves forward to play for Edwardians. Tom Brodrick made some cracking tackles and was not beaten on his wing - with Ellis the other standout performance from the backs. In the forwards, the picks were James Reay and Farai who showed the right level of aggression and great commitment. All in all it was a job well done.