Stafford welcomed Bolton Buccaneers to the County Ground for a stormy November encounter. The games between the two teams were always hotly contested with last season seeing both sides take home wins. Blackberry Lane had survived the worst that Storm Claudia had to give and the pitches were very playable. The temperature was noticeably dropping and the Marvels were missing a handful of regulars following the tempestuous match against Longlevens.

Bolton came storming into the match, carrying hard through a meaty set of forwards. Stafford dug their studs in but the wave after wave of Buccaneering attacks washed over the defence. A couple of soft tackles opened up the pitch for the visitors to take the first points of the afternoon. With a working plan in motion the Lancashire horde continued to create chaos. The Marvels were forced into a retreating defence which was eventually anchored on its own line. Picking their targets, the Buccaneers opened up the defence and sailed through for their second of the game. The Stafford forwards were putting in a huge shift and a couple of momentous tackles eventually blunted the relentless Bolton attack. With the momentum stalled, the Marvels started to build some phases of their own. With the backs and forwards combining well, it was the visitors having to defend a slow march. A couple of punishing charges battered the opposition back the final hard yards. With all the possession the Blackberry Lane XV were just looking for the final push. It took the experienced boot of Will Conaghan to launch the ball high and a flying Simon Mcdonald crashed through to ground the ball, converted by Simon Lewis. The game descended into a tiring stalemate as the teams tussled across the field. A couple of injuries to the Marvels saw the bench being called on to plug the holes. The Buccaneers took advantage of the disruption to snatch their third of the match. A thundering charge from Jack West opened up the field and only a crunching tackle bought him down short of the line. The Marvels went into half time trailing 7 – 17 and looking for a foothold in a difficult game.

Stafford bought on some fresh legs for the second half but were soon back under the cosh as the visitors resumed their assault. A Bolton try soon followed as a scrambling defence were stretched too far and a miss match in numbers allowed the Buccaneers to cruise over the line. The Marvels wouldn’t stop fighting and a brutal period ended with some hard-won possession. Some slick passing released Ayden Lillico to leave scorch marks down the wing for a stunning Stafford try, converted by Zack Pressland. With the last twenty minutes appearing on the clock the game could still have swung either way. An elusive run from James Hughes left defenders standing as he crashed across the line for a try, converted by Zac Pressland. A Bolton response prised the scores back apart making it a six-point game. But then both sides started to tire as weary legs couldn’t put anymore into the fray. With a final burst of energy, the visitors seized the opportunity to snatch two more tries to put the game beyond any doubt. As the skies continued to darken, the referees whistle finally bought the enjoyable game to a weary close.

Next Marvels Match: Saturday 29th November vs Worcester Mixed Ability, away K.O. 2pm.