Both teams came into the second game of the season looking to recover from opening encounter losses. The teams last met in the league on 7th March 2020 when the Black Country XV visited the County Ground. This was the last league fixture before the Covid enforced postponements and the whole rugby community went into an extended lock down. Wolverhampton went on to win the match by a single penalty kick which secured promotion keeping the teams apart for a few seasons.

Both teams sized each other up during the opening phases with the ferocity of the clashes setting the background for a competitive afternoon’s sport. It was Stafford who quietly started to gain the upper hand when a couple of exploratory forays tested the visiting defence. Wolverhampton appeared to have snuffed out any threat before some ferocious play battered open some space. Charlie Collier erupted through the bodies to cross for the first try of the afternoon, converted by Henry Perks. The Stafford motor was starting to purr and the visitors had to scramble to plug the attacking threat. The home side set piece was proving equally effective and a stolen lineout set the base for the next score. Smuggling the purloined ball across the field, Archie Bent and Jerry Qasenivalu tore through grasping hands in a devastating exchange of passes. The final ball found its way to captain Alex Rock who cruised across the line for the second of the afternoon converted by Henry Perks. Wolverhampton were still battling strongly and some simple rugby soon earned the visitors a well-constructed try of their own. It was left to Stafford to close off the exhausting half as they produced one more turnover to carry deeply into hostile opposition territory. With the ball rippling through flying hands, Archie Bent collected leaving scorch marks as he crossed the line for a try converted by Henry Perks. Stafford went into half time leading 21 – 5 and having played some glorious rugby.

The opening whistle had just sounded when a swarming Stafford overwhelmed the waiting Wolverhampton. Charlie Collier muscled through but was chopped down just short of the line. With the platform secured the ball rippled down the line in a sublime display of running rugby which decimated the defence. Finally, Henry Perks crossed for the bonus point try which he then converted. Wolverhampton bullied their way back into the game and some brutal rugby earned the second visiting try of the afternoon. A Stafford yellow card added to the mounting pressures as the home side were temporarily reduced to fourteen on the pitch. The visitors worked hard to exploit the advantage but a single loose pass undid all of the tenacious work. Scooping up possession, Stafford shifted the ball around the pitch at a breathless pace. Wolverhampton scrambled to respond but ran out of numbers as Ollie Croft flew across the line for the next try. The home side threat remained ever constant but an alert visiting XV intercepted a slightly long pass and sprinted down the pitch for their final score of the afternoon. With a full compliment back on the pitch, Stafford looked to wrestle back control but they were having to contend with a relentless Wolverhampton who were looking for league points from a fourth try. The Stafford forwards dug in with sticky hand and bruised bodies steering their way to within scoring distance of the line. A couple of rucks provided a sniping platform before Gregor Lennon got his sizeable paws on the ball, leaving everyone standing to score under the posts, converted by Will Turner. Both teams looked absolutely spent as the game dwindled towards the final moments but there was time for one more score. A missed pass was collected by Colton McLaughlin who found the energy to step around several defenders before he was hauled down just short of the whitewash. The Stafford hoard weren’t far behind and the ball found its way into the hands of Connor McCulloch who crashed across for the final try of the afternoon.

Next 1st XV Match: Saturday 21st September vs Sutton Coldfield XV, Away. K.O. 15:00.