Stafford Colts v Newport Colts - 17.9.23

Newport were given a fright as Stafford Colts led for long periods of the game only to be hit by a second half quick-fire double.
The home side started the brighter and were ahead within six minutes when a loose penalty kick by Seb Conaghan was brilliantly retrieved by Aidan Barker. The ball was recycled by the forwards and Fin Osmant crashed over to open the scoring. Unfortunately Conaghan could not convert.
They held onto the lead until the 14th minute when a fumbled ball in midfield was turned over and the Newport backs were clinical - finishing in the corner to level up the scores.
But Stafford proved their early score was not a flash in the pan as they produced a sustained period of pressure in and around their opponents 22. A series of penalties led to a well-executed lineout which they worked into the middle of the Newport 10 metre line. Then following further infringements from the visitors, Callum Stanley, in typical fashion, barrelled his way over. It left an easy extra two points for Conaghan - and extended the lead to 12-5.
Around five minutes before the break Stafford were given a glimpse of what was to come when a powerful break from the visitors found their winger with plenty of room to outpace the backline and touch down in the corner - although their conversion again came up short.
It was a refreshing sight to see Stafford going in ahead against Newport - one of the top division’s perennial highflyers - with the hope that a rare victory over the Shropshire side was there for the taking. And that optimism increased after the interval with their opponents down to 14 players and a straightforward penalty from Conaghan putting them 15-10 up within seven minutes.
But it was always going to be an uphill battle especially with Stafford losing powerful prop Ben Thomas to a head injury - followed by hooker Liam Quindos and influential captain DJ Clements, both instrumental in a much-improved lineout performance from the previous week. Although it was Charlie Kirby, playing in an unfamiliar second row role, who was the pick of the forwards in this Division 1 clash.
As the second half wore on, Newport had their first real spell of dominance although they had to wait until the 50th minute to make the scores level with another unconverted try in the corner. Worse was to come. From the kickoff the visitors went from one side of the pitch to the other and this time scored underneath the posts to put them in front for the first time in the match.
Stafford were not without their chances but dropped balls, turnovers, and lost lineouts unfortunately handed the momentum to Newport. And it was another fumbled pass just inside the home half that saw the visitors break away to extend the lead to 15-29 with a converted try.
Newport again found themselves down to 14 with another yellow card but the home team could not capitalize on their numerical advantage - and the visitors had the last word with another penalty on the stroke of time completing a comfortable victory.

Coaches Comments:
We were all a bit deflated because we thought we were going to do this today and for the majority of the game we were the better side. It was good to see our line outs firing better than last week and during the first half we were on top in the scrum - but unfortunately injuries in the pack - and especially front row - derailed our strategy and we ended up playing players out of position.
We will talk about our game management to make sure we are making the right decisions - for example looking to keep the scoreboard ticking over and taking the easy points.
But again, the physicality of a Division 1 battle, against a good team, which is predominately senior colts, demonstrates that it will take us time to ensure we have the strength in depth to compete for the full 70 minutes.