Stafford welcomed Burton 2nd XV to the County Ground for the final home game of the season. The teams last met in a festive December encounter where the Blackberry Lane XV racked up an impressive sixty-four points. With Burton sitting in 6th place and Stafford in 5th, the East Staffordshire side mathematically remained the only team who could still overtake the County Town team over the closing games of the season. Typical April weather was sweeping across the pitch with sunshine and rain being pushed around by a strong wind.

For the second week in a row, Stafford started the game battling into an unpredictable wind. The teams were relatively evenly matched but some dogged play from Burton soon steered the visitors to within striking distance. The hosting defensive line held out for a couple of phases but the East Staffordshire XV soon prised open some space to take the first try of the afternoon. The game descended into a good-tempered pugnacious scrap through which Burton were just edging the game. Stafford couldn’t fire up the engine and despite some promising moments were fairly much rooted within their own half. The visitors were building some threatening rugby, but the home side defence was solid, managing to eventually deflate anything in front of them. It took a long thirty minutes before some running Stafford rugby suddenly broke through Burton. With the defence scrambling backwards, deft Blackberry Lane hands shipped the ball around until Stu Lewis powered across for the equalising try. The visiting XV stoically returned to the task in hand and pressure from the restart earned some good territorial gains. Stafford didn’t respond rapidly enough and Burton clinically crossed to re-take a narrow lead. As the time started to dwindle out of the half it was the visitors again on the front foot as they effectively steered the ball up the pitch. This time the County Town team were more prepared and defended their line with a snarling defiance. A wily Burton wouldn’t be denied and when brute force failed some silky stepping worked well to take another try. Stafford went into half time trailing 5 – 19 and hoping that the change in end would provide some assistance from the capricious elements.

With the wind now in their favour Stafford surged into the second half and were soon within touching distance of the club house try line. Burton threw back a couple of forays but couldn’t stop Alex Rock from sneaking across for a try converted by Misa Veramu. The momentum was soon snatched back when former Stafford colt, Dillon Shrehorn, showed all his class by tearing through half the field for a Burton bonus point try. A fifth try soon followed to give the visitors a well earned nineteen-point lead in a game which they were managing well. With some very vocal expletives echoing around the ground, Stafford shook themselves back into shape. The sizeable home crowd joined in urging the team to get the engine going. The Blackberry Lane XV responded and started an inexorable march up the pitch which left defending bodies strewn behind them. With the try line in sight, a line out provided the platform for a driving maul which most of the team ran in to join. Burton completely capitulated and a grinning Gaz O’Connor was at the bottom of the pile for a try. As Stafford roared into top gear the visitors started to leak penalties which eventually provided a second attacking line out within striking distance. Another driving maul ripped through the defence and Gaz O’Connor claimed the bonus point try, converted by Alex Rock. The game had turned on its head and there was now only seven points separating the teams. Throwing the ball around all over the pitch, the County Town team were shredding any chance of a cohesive response. As Burton struggled to responded Jordie Purvis crashed through some tired tackling to take the next try but the missed conversion still left a two-point deficit. The kicking game was tormenting the visitors and now with a faltering lineout they were leaking possession. A stolen line out saw Dan Watts outrageously stepping the Burton scrum half to release the Stafford backs. The ball rippled down the line and Jordie Purvis took his second try for the lead, converted by Alex Rock. With five minutes on the clock Stafford had built an impressive five-point lead but needed to manage the game out. A couple of stolen line outs and a scrum against the head should have provided the platform to kill off the game. But infringements were spotted by the eagle-eyed referee and the whistle provided respite for Burton. As the game dwindled to a close a final Stafford turnover became a penalty. Up stepped Henry Ralphs to drive the ball square between the uprights and deny the visitors a loosing bonus point. Immediately, the referees whistle signalled the end of the game and the County Ground erupted in appreciation of an exciting game.

Next 1st XV Match: Saturday 25th April vs Trentham 1st XV, Away. K.O. 15.00