Saturday saw the team travel up the M6 to Lightfoot Green and an AGP very similar to the one we played last season at Newcastle Falcons! However, Preston, via the RFU were stricter on what could and could NOT be worn. This gave rise to one of the players using gorilla glue to secure a stud into an old pair of boots in a desperate attempt not to spend money on a new pair, more suited to the 3G on offer. The regulations also included no spitting and no swearing. I can understand the former but, for the life of me, never realized that the artificial grass was sensitive to bad language!

The team arrived around 13:00 and were greeted by a full car park, a large crowd and a pitch filled with rugby players who were just finishing their game before giving the pitch up to our hosts for the main event.

PGH won the toss and kicked off into a strong breeze and to a side who had lost six games in a row - keen for a victory of any type. Despite having the majority of territory and possession, for the first 10 minutes, Stour found themselves 7 points down when powerful blindside Sam Gale crashed over and Lewis Allen added a conversion from out right. This seemed to galvanize the visitors and capped by Billy Harding who made one of his trademark breaks from inside his own half. He was finally pulled down on the 22m line but not before a sumptuous off load to a folically challenged Joe Bridger whose speed had been increased by the law of aerodynamics. The resulting try was converted by No 10 Chris Scott and leveling the score with 14 minutes on the clock. The rest of the half was pretty much Even Stevens but a yellow card to Rundle (many thought this harsh) for a high tackle took Stour down to 14 men and a 10-7 deficit when PGH opted for a penalty kick almost on the stroke of half time.

Fast-forward to the second half and it would appear that the 10 minute break and a few words of advice from the coaching staff did wonders for the Stourbridge team. Unfortunately, it excluded advice not to tackle with your head and Chris Scott was replaced following a nasty collision. He was replaced by Luke White who went to full back and Petty moved to 10. Ciaran Moore finally showed what he can do from the base of a scrum and broke clear bulldozing through a number of tackles before being stopped on 22 metres. The ball was fed out to the right wing and it was only a somewhat illegal tackle on Bridger that stopped a try. No yellow card but Stour did take the penalty to a lineout and a series of “pick and go” moves. Mukarati (who else?) was then in possession and over the whitewash to give the visitors the lead for the first time. Luke White converted the extra 2 points and SRFC were very much in the ascendancy…that is until ex Stour player Chris Roddy scored a Robbie Hurrell copycat try by hanging out on the wing and taking full advantage of a considerable overlap. PGH failed to convert and this was Stour’s cue to start turning up the pressure. Ahead in both possession and territory, they would have stretched the lead even further had a penalty kick gone over 3 minutes later. However, it was only in the 74th minute did they make the game safer with a well worked try following another Moore break. The ball found its way to Nathan Tilsley who played a very steady game at centre and he eluded several challenges before touching down to the left of the sticks. White’s conversion looked like it went wide but the referee over ruled his two touch judges and awarded the conversion to give Stour a 15-21 lead.

The home side now looked like they were tiring given some strong but energy sapping defensive work against the Stourbridge pack. This was epitomized by replacement hooker Jack Lea who made some clever breaks at not inconsiderable pace that could even be said to make a winger look slow.

In the final minutes Bridger found himself at the end of another dubious tackle and Stour had enough time to opt for a lineout kick. The catch and drive had worked before and there was no reason why it should not, again. Club stalwart Chris Depper was the lucky recipient and his try gave Stourbridge a bonus point victory and considerable relief for all involved.

Thanks again to all the travelling support we saw in Lancashire but, if the trend continues, the diminishing numbers may mean a taxi is booked for 8th April (the Hinckley game) rather than a coach!

by Richard Stanley

Photos Courtesy of Mike Craig from Preston Grasshoppers @MickyCraig - thank you for kindly allowing us to use your pics