STAFFORD “A” vs SHREWSBURY 2ND XV. 26TH OCTOBER 2019. LEAGUE MATCH.

Stafford “A” took full advantage of the AGP pitch able to ignore the weather and run out against top of the table Shrewsbury 2nd XV. The Shropshire side travelled having taken four wins out of five. But they were entering the new lair of county town rugby where a waiting Stafford “A” boasted three wins out of three underpinned by an impressive 151 points.

Stafford showed their intent early on with a bruising opening period which welcomed the visitors to Coopers Park. A dominant scrum put Shrewsbury under pressure and the Salopian team had to battle hard to get out of their own half. As the visitors eventually tried to clear their lines a leaping Josh Arnold stopped the ball going out of play setting the platform for another home side attack. Camped in the corner the Stafford forwards battered against a tenacious defence with Dave Freeman eventually crossing the line but judged held up. Shrewsbury put in an exhausting shift but a strong scrum under the posts ended with the referee awarding a penalty and Ross Norton grabbed the ball to crash across the line for a try. The game evened out slightly with both teams trading attacks before Shrewsbury punted a loose ball forward and good chasing play ended in the equalising try with the conversion giving the visitors a narrow two-point lead. Stafford finished the half with a flourish and a Rob Mciver charge was bought down just short before the referee signalled the end of the half. Stafford went into half time trailing by 5-7 but having had the majority of the play.

Stafford came steaming into the second half and Shrewsbury weren’t given any time to settle. There was an inevitability to the attack and slick hands shipped the ball all over the park culminating in a flying Oscar Saunders crossing the line for a try. Stafford bought on some fresh legs and the tempo on the pitch started to prise open some small gaps. A series of hard carries by the forwards softened up a strong defence before Fin Jenkinson worked his way across the line for a try. Shrewsbury fought hard but struggled to contain a relentless attack, Rob Mciver running over anything in his way to claim the next try and the bonus point, converted by Lewis Cantrill. With both teams starting to tire, there was plenty of room for running rugby. An elusive effort by Rich Martin saw the Stafford player crossing the line but being held on his back by two alert defenders, stopping the ball being grounded. The visitors couldn’t escape from their own line and a slightly long pass was seized by an alert Matt Smith to get the final home side try of the afternoon, converted by Lewis Cantrill. Shrewsbury closed the scoring with an excellent series of running passes culminating in a consolation try.