Stafford A welcomed Cannock to the County Ground for a friendly match to close off September rugby. The home side team fielded a good mixture of experience and youth which looked full of running. In contrast the visitors travelled with a larger side who promised to bring a more direct game of rugby to Blackberry Lane. The ground had been nicely warmed up by the preceding Mixed Ability match and a watery sunshine bathed the ground.

The first ten minutes of the game saw the teams cancelling each other out as the sides settled and got to know each other. A dominant Cannock scrum broke the deadlock creating a platform to drive deeply into the Stafford half. The A XV were forced into a scrambled defence which halted the initial momentum but couldn’t stop the visitors from crossing the line for the opening try of the afternoon. The Blackberry Lane XV sprung immediately back into the fray and some running rugby caused chaos in the Cannock defence. The ball was shipped around the pitch and Morgan Cassells raced across the line for a try. Stafford were playing all of the rugby and the visiting XV were having to chase possession. The sustained period of pressure ended with a whirling Will Smith breaking away and a supporting Tom Berry putting on the gas to take a second try, converted by Misa Veramu. The County Town XV increased the tally when Cooper Purvis outstripped the hard-working defenders to add another try to the scoreline, converted by Misa Veramu. The visitors couldn’t find any respite and despite some strong defence were struggling to contain the bubbling opposition. As the half started to dwindle towards a close, a surging run by Alfie O’Brien crashed through the grasping Cannock hands. Just short of the line a quick juggle of the ball and it was the final try of the period, converted by Misa Veramu. Stafford went into half time with a very comfortable 26 – 7 lead.

An early Cannock try cut the deficit as the visiting XV took heed of the half time team talk to find their way to the line. It was a fleetingly brief moment of success and Stafford soon reasserted their dominance as the opposition struggled to respond to some cruel attacking rugby. As the defence slowly ran out of numbers Finley Collins cruised across the line for a try, converted by Misa Veramu. Cannock caught their breath and tried to get a foothold in a difficult game. But a short period of possession came to an abrupt halt when Rob Jones carried hard to carve open the field and take an individual try, converted by Misa Veramu. With ten minutes left on the clock both teams were sucking in the oxygen and looking forward to a well-earned rest. With the pitch opening up Stafford hands released Finley Collins for his second try of the afternoon. However, it was a tenacious Cannock who closed out the game with some brutish rugby which propelled the ball across the line for the final try of the match, before the referee’s whistle signalled the end of the afternoon.

Next A XV Match: Saturday 4th October vs Whitchurch 2nd XV, Away. K.O. 15:00.