But a lengthy injury break just before half time seemed to upset their composure, Otley seized the initiative and a rash of penalty concessions denied the hosts any 2nd half continuity. The Yorkshiremen took full advantage to secure a bonus point win and their first victory at Stourton Park in over a decade.

The game was barely a couple of minutes old when Otley winger Harry Hudson crossed the line unchallenged from an innocuous-looking first phase attack, the hosts’ wide defence caught dozing and drawn to the ball carrier rather than holding the man-on-man defensive line. Stour hit back though when a dangerous tackle was penalised and Jamie Hearn slotted a straightforward kick at goal.
Outside half Gary Dipple then celebrated his first league start of the season by ghosting through the defensive line & linking with centre Stef Shillingford who executed a simple draw & give to create an overlap for Hearn who scored wide out. 10min 8-7.

With the benefit of the breeze Stour continued to exert pressure & were rewarded with a penalty in Otley’s 22 as defenders strayed offside. They opted for a kick to the corner & after a series of drives stressed the defences a pinpoint pass from scrum half Joe Murphy located hooker Dale Garner who crossed to score. Jamie Hearn converted, 20min 15-7.

Both sides turned over their next possession sets, but Stour were eventually able to draw another defensive penalty in the Otley 22 and kick to the corner to set up a catch & drive, but the Otley defence was solid and the opportunity wasted when Murphy’s chip through was easily defused. Stour got a break when Otley’s scrum half Steve Depledge knocked on fielding a kick driven deep into his 22, from the scrum no.8 Drew Harper picked up and ran straight down the defensive channel of Otley outside half Ben Fairclough who misstimed an attempted low tackle and was left lying on the turf in clear distress. Assistant referee Mark Liddell reached him first as the physio & medical teams raced on to clear his airway and get him breathing, but he then started to fit so there was a lengthy delay awaiting an ambulance. The good news is that he was given the all clear and released by Russells Hall later in the evening.

Play restarted with just 4 minutes in the half remaining, Stour securing a penalty as Otley tighthead James Stannard illegally drove Garner upwards out of the scrum, but the kick to the corner again failed to bear fruit as Otley held firm. Halftime 15-7 and Stour with their work cut out.

The first scrum of the 2nd half saw a penalty award to Otley, they kicked for territory and then ran the ball down the backline. The hosts’ defences were caught dozing again, a first up tackle missed and the ball worked wide to create a simple overlap for fullback Arnold Ellison. A Depledge penalty then secured the lead and it looked ominous for Stour who were pinned deep in their own half and struggling to achieve any distance with their clearance kicks. Otley set up a string of attacks and worked the ball wide to Hudson who barged off an ineffective tackle to score in the corner. 55min 15-24.

Stour briefly rallied from the restart, forcing a penalty in Otley’s 22 that replacement Sione Tu’ipolotu ran quickly for Harper to barge over in the corner. Depledge hit back though with 2 successful penalties before Dipple hit one for the hosts after Otley replacement James White was sin-binned for playing the ball off his feet. 73min 23-30. But a knock on from the restart saw Stour pinned deep in their 22. Otley turned the screw, forcing a series of scrum penalties that eventually saw replacement Chris Depper sinbinned. As the clock ran out referee Brendan McGaffney finally lost patience with the hosts’ disruption tactics and awarded a penalty try that denied the hosts even a losing bonus point.