Stafford development team welcomed Stoke to the County Ground for a friendly fixture. This was the second meeting between the two teams this season and with Stoke holding the victory at home, the Development team were out for revenge.

The rain pelted down to accompany the refs whistle and open the game. Slippery conditions saw the ball squirting out of grasping hands and causing loose footing for the charging players. Stoke started the afternoons scoring with a converted try and a subsequent unconverted try gave the visitors a comfortable lead. As Stafford started to find their rhythm, Stoke grudgingly gave ground and a solid defence couldn’t keep out a driving Bruce McCulloch as the home side hit back with a try of their own. A third Stoke try against the run of play undermined all of the hard work being produced by a tenacious Stafford XV. A yellow card to the visitors reduced them to 14 and Stafford took full advantage, with Tom Williams bullying his way across the line with a ferocious forwards try. Stafford went into half time trailing by 10 – 19 but having played some good periods of rugby.

Stoke reasserted their lead with a very early try in the second half, to prise the scores further apart. The Stafford scrum then clicked into gear and started destroying the Stoke forwards, forcing open some much needed space on the pitch. As the visitors were forced backwards, Scott Raines took the direct path across the line for the third Stafford try of the afternoon, Chris Newell adding the conversion. A final unconverted Stoke try closed a game which had been a lot tighter than the final score suggested.