Hereford Colts v Stafford Colts - 10.9.23

A Jack Raine brace fired Stafford to a satisfying opening league victory at Hereford.
The scoreline did not reflect the visitor’s dominance as time and again they threatened the home try line without converting possession into points.
It started on a high after five minutes when a pass from fly half Seb Conaghan saw Raines leave defenders in his wake as he ran half the length of the pitch to put the ball between the posts - giving Conaghan an easy conversion.
Raines nearly repeated the feat minutes later but was tackled superbly inches from the line. The visitors were comfortable on top with some strong runs from Ben Thomas, Olly Croft and Finn Osmant making huge inroads into their host’s half.
On too many occasions Stafford were guilty of kicking away possession and this, allied to some wayward passing, gave Hereford hope of staying in the game.
The home side hit back with a penalty on 25 minutes following a high tackle. And they could have narrowed the margin further when a Conaghan pass in his own 22 was intercepted - only for Croft to hunt down the opposition number 10 who looked to have the line at his mercy.
The half ended with Stafford once again on top and they may feel they should have had a penalty try in the dying seconds.
In a bruising encounter the forwards matched the physicality of their strong opposite numbers with the front row of Thomas and Harry Woolman, the second half duo Callum Stanley and Matt Turner, and powerhouse Kayden Robinson in the number 8 role. And some exciting backs work by Raine and the indefatigable Aiden Barker complemented the forwards’ hard labour.
The team were left in no doubt that more was expected in the second 40 minutes and they extended the league shortly after the break with a Conaghan penalty - only for Hereford to immediately reply with a penalty of their own.
But the newly promoted Colts finally put some daylight between the teams when the excellent Henry Perks’ charging run saw the ball recycled brilliantly through the backs with Henry Ralphs diving in to expertly finish the move.
The Stafford side should have put the match to bed going close on a number of occasions. But a series of penalties allowed the opposition to advance from defending in their own 22 to the visitor’s five metre line - eventually crossing for an unconverted try.
That score set up a nervous final 10 minutes - although Stafford’s cause was helped with their hosts down to 14 following a yellow card for a dangerous tip tackle.
But the pressure was relieved when the forwards went through the phases with first Turner, then Stanley setting up the perfect platform for the ball through the backs and young centre Raine grabbed his second try. Conaghan failed to convert.
In the last play of the match, Stafford were awarded a penalty and opted to go for the three points - and this time the number 10 made no mistake to give the scoreline more respectability.
Coaches Comments:
We played the better rugby but in the first half we needed to work together as a team. We were too eager and blew a couple of good chances to extend the lead. But in the second half we were much better organised. That was the most physical game we have had so far and the number of players coming off with injuries was an indicationof that. What was pleasing is our forwards put in a huge performance and matched that physicality - especially Ben, Matt, Harry and Callum.
Most importantly this was a good team performance and nobody who stepped on that pitch disappointed us.