Stour were clearly expecting a forward battle as they made their first ever trip to the hosts’ well-appointed Heslam Park ground, Neil Mitchell’s bench containing an entire replacement front row. Though the starting slots up front were rotated the only personnel changes from the successful trip to Dore Moor were the returns of Nathan Tilsley at outside centre and Sam Wilkes at replacement hooker. The hosts kicked off making first use of a piercingly cold northerly wind on a pitch that had been frozen overnight but thawed thanks to a clear blue winter sky.

Stour’s early clearance kicks were wayward, turning over possession in exchange for little by way of territory, they quickly moved to a ball-in-hand approach though and were awarded a penalty in their first foray into the hosts’ half. Uninterested in accumulating points in multiples of 3 – as they were to remain throughout the game – Stour kicked for the corner but set the pattern for their first half performance by missing touch and spilling the clearance kick. Though they were to enjoy plenty of possession, Stour found themselves able to generate little first half pressure or momentum due to a rash of handling errors.

The hosts drew first blood from an attacking lineout, a maul trundled towards the line before no.8 Jake Barron crashed over from short range. 8min 5-0. They attempted to repeat the exercise shortly after but the Stour defences were better prepared and the hosts conceded a penalty for sealing off. A similar offence gave Stour their first attacking platform in the hosts’ 22, the pack lost the ball in contact short of the line but they were offered a 2nd bite at the cherry when the clearance kicked drifted infield. Rundle gathered and hared crossfield to link with fellow-wingman Josh Trinham, the cover just held them out but the opportunity remained very much alive until an open-goal scoring pass was spilt.

Stour retained their foothold in Scunthorpe territory though and opted to scrum a 5m penalty award. A series of short drives softened the defences before Nigel Mukarati smashed over from short range. 30min 5-7. Scunthorpe hit straight back, making inroads down the right flank off a lineout before some flimsy Stour tackling allowed fullback Paul Cook through to score. 32min 10-7 with no further scoring to halftime.

The team talk wouldn’t have been overly complex, Stour looked immediately to up the game tempo at the start of the 2nd half. A scrum on the hosts 22 saw their pack in rapid retreat to Stour’s newly introduced replacement props, Stour skipper Ciaran Moore driving from the base to set up a neat grubber kick into the in-goal by outside-half Chris Scott. First in the footrace was fullback Luke White who duly helped himself to the try and another successful conversion. 44min 10-14.

A half-break by Tilsley put Trinham into space, only last-ditch cover bringing him down near the Scunthorpe 22. But Stour had the bit between their teeth, regained possession and ground their way towards the hosts’ line where replacement Stef Thorp was adjudged held up in in-goal. The hammer came down in the subsequent scrum set, the hosts’ front row incurring a rash of penalties and a warning from referee Callum Sharp as they buckled under pressure. Stour looked to have blown the opportunity when the ball was knocked on, but they got a 2nd chance when the hosts were unable to lift the siege and transgressed near their own line defending a wave of short-range drives. Stour opted to scrum, the hosts were penalised for not driving straight and Mr Sharp was under the posts awarding a penalty try. 63min 10-21.

Back came Scunthorpe, working an attack into the Stour 22 that saw winger Sam Morgan just denied as he was held up in in-goal by the last-gasp tackles of Tilsley & Trinham. A penalty award was tapped and run but Stour held out at the cost of a short range scrum. Knowing the drive was coming Scunthorpe looked to get a quick heel but the ball shot out of the side of the scrum. Replacement scrum half Rod Petty reacted fastest, working play right where Joe Heatley’s angled run took him clean through the misaligned defences. The ball found the unmarked Rundle who burnt off the cover, racing 60m to score the bonus-point try. 76min 10-26.

With time up a series of quick tap penalties by the hosts saw Scott yellow carded for a high tackle and a well-worked try for in the corner for flanker James Dyson, scant reward for the hosts who will have been bitterly disappointed to get nothing from a game they were very much in barely 5min earlier. Fulltime 15-26.

Next week Stour host Leicester Lions. They will be looking to halt a run of 5 straight defeats to their East Midlands rivals who lie just one place behind Stour’s 3rd position in National 2 North. ko 3pm.