With 2 tries in the bag and a 12-3 lead with the halftime whistle imminent, Stour looked comfortably in control of this game against a hardworking but unspectacular Huddersfield side. The visitors pulled a try back before halftime and the loss of player/coach Jon Higgins to a nasty ankle injury seemed to dent the home side’s confidence. 2 further tries for the visitors sealed their victory, Stour’s sterile 2nd half performance one they will be keen to forget.

The team saw a handful of changes from the lineup that started against Leicester. Both Caolan Ryan & Jon Higgins returned from injury, pushing Gary Dipple to inside centre. Ciaran Moore started at 2nd row behind props Adam Sturdy & Mark George who had been patched up, while on the bench debutant prop Jim Owen became the latest Stourbridge Lions’ player to make the move up.
With the fresh westerly breeze offering little tactical advantage to either side, Huddersfield kicked off defending the south end, Stour’s back 3 again having to cope with the low sun in their eyes. The visitors drew first blood when referee David Clarkson penalised a Stour scrum near their 22, Huddersfield’s outside half Chris Bell nailing the kick at goal. 4min 0-3.

Stour were struggling to apply pressure, having conceded early turnovers in contact they kicked a penalty into the visitors’ 22 but were again turned over as the lineout ball went loose. A further penalty award was kicked to the corner, Mark George tackled just short of the line but the hosts were unable to drive a maul forward and turned it over again. They hit back when Moore seized a wayward lineout throw, after a set of forward drives the ball came right where a Higgins cut-out pass found Ryan and Stef Cooksammy in the line. The wide defenders found themselves wrong-footed and Nathan Bressington cantered over in the corner. 12min 5-3.

A Higgins chip was knocked on under pressure from the chasing Ryan, Stef Shillingford gathered loose ball and broke clear but he was unable to find the support runners and the chance went begging. After an unproductive penalty kick to the corner Stour looked to have worked an overlap on the left, but a big hit by the last defender forced Hurrell into touch. Huddersfield looked to drive a maul clear of their 22 but great work by Mark George stripped the ball, Sturdy fed it to Jacob Nash who hared through a gap and held off the cover to score. Ryan converted, 23min 12-3 as Stour’s early domination of territory paid dividends.

A fluffed penalty kick to touch with a non-existent chase found Stour defending in their own half. A knock-on halted the attack though, Drew Harper breaking from the scrum to make big yardage but he was hauled down just short of the visitors’ 22 and a forward pass killed the attack. Stour continued to press but a pass went loose as the defenders flew up and scrambled the ball to touch. Back came the hosts, the visitors conceding a further penalty for hands in the ruck that was again kicked to the 22 but the lineout was disrupted and the ball cleared. Stour secured a messy lineout and then a further penalty and again it went to touch in the 22. The penalty count was now 1-8 in favour of the hosts who were enjoying emphatic territorial domination. They secured the lineout and launched another set of forward drives but the tireless defenders isolated a ball carrier who was penalised for hanging on. The clearance kick left the visitors deep in their own territory, and with barely 2min to go one assumed that was it for the half. Wrong, Huddersfield’s forwards secured the lineout, broke through and were only halted when the backfield cover reached them near Stour’s10m line. The ball was recycled left and Bell darted through a hole as the defensive line rushed up. His chip was minored at the expense of a 5m scrum from which the ball was moved to fullback Elliot Hodgson who picked a good line to round his defender to score behind the posts. Halftime 12-10, scant return for Stour’s territorial domination.

The hosts started the 2nd half at pace, drawing an offside penalty near halfway but a careless handling error gifted possession straight back. Stour’s defences contained Huddersfield’s drives, the visitors opted to kick and were driven back into their own half by a huge Ryan punt. After a lengthy delay Higgins was stretchered off with a nasty ankle injury to be replaced by Tu’ipolotu, Dipple moving to outside half. A series of miscued kicks put Stour under pressure in their own 22, Huddersfield countered wide and with the defence stretched replacement Ben Morrill managed to evade 4 indifferent tackle attempts to score under the posts. 49min 12-17 and the home supporters now very quiet.

All but the last minute of the remainder of the 2nd half turned out to be a dour stalemate, both sides setting up attacking positions and moving the ball wide but struggling to penetrate well-marshalled defences. Things didn’t get any better for Stour when Shillingford limped off, Chris Depper came on at no.8 with Drew Harper having to cover outside centre. Loose ball from a kick ahead was worked to Harper who made it to the try line but was bought down, Mr Clarkson opting to call a maul and awarding the scrum put in to the defenders who cleared their lines. As bodies started to tire it was the visitors who finished the stronger, camping out in the Stour half where Hodgson carved out a break in open play and was only denied when an offload was adjudged forward. A ball carrier crossed the Stour line shortly after but had benefitted from a blatant obstruction penalised by Mr Clarkson.

The visitors opted to kick at goal from a penalty award wide out, it drifted wide but the rushed clearance missed touch and they piled the pressure back on. A penalty award gave Stour a glimpse of an unlikely comeback, a further award for a deliberate knock-on punted deep into the visitors’ territory but crucially it missed touch. Huddersfield countered ball in hand, tired bodies fell off tackles and eventually winger Dave Hall spotted nobody at home behind the breakdown area, breezing through for the final score. Full time 12-24.