Telford 7 – 32 Stafford

Stafford 3rd XV had a break from the league this Saturday but travelled to Telford with a youthful squad for a friendly. After the recent wet weather, handling errors were always going to be likely and so it proved for the first 15 minutes of the game. Both teams were looking to run the ball but as each attack gathered momentum it was cut short with a knock on. However, Stafford soon began to use their youthful team and superior pace to find holes in the Telford defence. A flurry of tries for the visitors opened the scoring and set the tone for the afternoon. The home side were not about to roll over and accept defeat and putting together a well worked move scored near the posts. Stafford had to respond quickly and after absorbing the Telford pressure struck back with two more tries. Stafford went into half time leading 7 -27 and having dominated the field for long periods.

The second half was a much more even contest and both teams had opportunities to increase their points tally. A try looked certain to be scored by Telford but an excellent tap tackle from Matty Lake and a good scramble defence ensured that the scores remained unaltered. As the game came to its conclusion, fatigue began to set in for both teams and the mistakes increased. However, after a spell of pressure in the middle of the pitch, Stafford broke clear of the Telford defence through Pete Knight. He carried the ball to within 5 metres of the try line which then allowed Bob Hobbs to pick up the ball from the ruck and power his way over the line. That proved to be the final action of a very enjoyable game.

The points scorers in the game were: Tom Larkin 2 tries, Matt Manion 1 try, Andrew Miller 1 try, Simon Thomas 1 try, Bob Hobbs 1 try, Sam Harbage 1 conversion.