Their last twenty minutes was car crash rugby, shipping 3 tries and barely hanging on to scrape a vital win as they finished the game with just 13 players on the park. Bees had to win this error-strewn affair generate momentum in their bid for National 2 North survival, credit to them for the way they fought back but they just couldn’t quite seize the prize at the death.

Toby Handley returned at scrum half, and with Caolan Ryan reporting sick on the morning Gary Dipple switched from wing to outside half allowing Nathan Bressington to return from injury. Chris Depper and Drew Harper rotated places again, but the only other changes were on the bench where Robbie Hurrell and Sione Tu’ipolotu returned.

Stour received the kick off defending the North end, Bees making an early statement of intent when a penalty within fly half Adam Canning’s kicking range was kicked to the corner. They couldn’t advance the maul though and were back defending their own line when Harper made big distance with a drive from the base of a scrum. Stef Cooksammy was just held out by the last defender, but Bees flooded the ruck and turned possession over, Canning’s kick lifting the siege.

Frequent handling errors and poorly executed kicks made both sides unable to capitalise on possession, one promising Stour attack turned over giving Bees winger Aquile Smith a lot of space to work in before Bressington managed to bring him down in the Stour 22. Canning looked to find Smith with a crossfield punt from a penalty award but the alert Bressington again quietly defused the risk. Bees attacked from a lineout but smart work by Ben Barkley turned the ball over and Dipple spotted acres of space in the Bees’ backfield. His chip over the defensive line sat up invitingly and he easily won the footrace to touch it down. 19min 7-0.

Dipple was back in action shortly after, spotting a mismatch in defence as the bulky Bees’ props lined up in midfield as Stour pressed. He fashioned a line break and found Ben Hughes in support, he broke the final tackle to lumber over the line for his first try of the season. 25min 14-0. Bees regathered the restart though, kicked a tackle-area penalty to touch on the Stour 22 and attacked again. Replacement fullback Ian Briggs shrugged off a tackle attempt as the ball was moved wide and the cover was unable to bring him down. 29min 14-7.

The Stour pack started to impose themselves, taking two scrums against the head and then forcing a penalty under the shadow of the Bees’ posts. With their tails up Stour scrummed again and drove Bees back, Harper bagging a touchdown at the base. 38min 21-7. Bees again regathered the restart, forcing penalty concessions in defence that drew captain Bressington a lecture from referee Luke Haskins. With time up and field position bang in front of the posts Canning opted to kick at goal but shanked a sitter, a miss that would come back to haunt him later. Half time 21-7.

A poor clearance kick put the Stour defences under pressure, a quick tap penalty by scrum half Rod Petty then found no.8 Steve Leach in support. He brushed off some flimsy tackle attempts and broke through to score. 43min 21-14. A Bees defender strayed offside within range of his own posts, Dipple fancied the kick and slotted it. 46min 24-14.

Bees got the better of a short kicking contest, forcing a lineout deep in Stour’s 22. They went for the catch & drive and as the maul started to inch forward their backline ran in to lend assistance, but crucially they had failed to deal with Ciaran Moore, he stripped the ball and fed it to Eji Uzoigwe who found the unmarked Stour threequarters, Bressington outran the cover in a 90m sprint to the corner. 54min 29-14.

Stour turned over another Bees scrum feed and pressed, earning a penalty that was kicked to the corner. After a series of short drives Nigel Mukarati was forced over from close range. 62min 36-14. But Bees again claimed the restart, a half-break by Canning setting up an attack down the right flank which he finished off by taking a return pass. 64min 36-21.

Rain started to fall as the sky got blacker, doubtless reflecting Stour DoR’s Neil Mitchell’s mood. From an unpromising-looking position in Bees’ 22 replacement scrumhalf Charlie Ding fashioned a break in open play, linking left with Smith who tore down the left wing, shrugged off the cover and scored in the corner. Game very much back on, 68min 36-26.

Good work by Hurrell secured the restart kick, but a handing error coughed it straight back and Stour were defending again, only a Bees knock on providing some respite. Stour continued to cough it back up through handling errors and it got worse when Sione Tu’ipolotu saw yellow for a dangerous tackle. Bees kicked for the corner and moved it right where ex-DK loosehead Stef Thorp drove over from short range. Alarm bells ringing loud as Stour were hitting self-destruct, 74min 36-33.

Bees ratcheted the tempo up even higher, centre Steve Johns breaking a tackle and making it deep into the Stour 22 where Petty recycled the ball right. They didn’t have the men in position to outflank a stretched defence, though a series of drives were held out just short as Stour finally found some discipline and forced a turnover but Dipple’s clearance kick didn’t lift the siege. Back came Bees from the lineout, they looked to have worked an overlap in the right corner but Tom Jarvis managed to deflect the pass, earning himself a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on and fortunate indeed that the officials didn’t call it as a penalty try. With a 2-man advantage Bees went to the corner again and but Stour again held firm, this time Chris Depper managing to get his hands on the ball to disrupt the maul. There was time for the scrum though and Bees threw everything they had at it, Ding winning a turnover as Handley had to dive on ball that squirted out of the side. The desperate last-gasp defence held out the drives though as Bees were unable to work it wide to take advantage of their superior numbers. It was eventually knocked on and that was it.

Next Saturday Stour have a week off, the following weekend they travel to old rivals Preston Grasshoppers