Misfiring early on in both attack and defence it took a half hour for them to wake up and get their noses in front on the scoreboard. Outside half Chris Scott had a day to forget with the kicking tee, 6 of his 8 goal kicks flying wide, but by the end Stour were dominating possession and producing attacking rugby of a quality that their Northumbrian opponents simply couldn’t contain.

First blood went to Tynedale when centre Jack Harrison broke through Stour’s defences to set up a try in the corner for winger Ben Duncan. Stour looked to hit back, a turnover setting up a counterattack that put winger Josh Trinham clear down the left wing but his offload just eluded unmarked fullback Rod Petty. Redemption was to come shortly afterwards though when a well-executed set of forward drives and half-break by scrum half Toby Handley pulled in the cover and left Petty with a stroll-in.

Tynedale hit back with 2 penalty kicks from centre Ash Smith, but Stour seized the lead on the half hour when flanker Nigel Mukarati barged over from short range. With the halftime whistle imminent a patient build-up through a well-executed set of phases saw flanker Joe Carpenter blast through Tynedale’s stretched defences. Halftime 17-11.

With the coaching staff’s choice halftime words ringing in their ears Stour set to work, the pack turning the screw in the scrum to force a penalty. Scott’s effort flew wide but his break moments later set up another tryscoring opportunity fumbled inches short of the tryline, but the visitors struggling to clear their lines they conceded the bonus-point try to lock forward Chris Depper after a well-executed catch & drive lineout drill.

Play ebbed and flowed, both sides maintaining a high tempo before hooker Billy Harding was worked clear down the right touchline, his inside pass producing Mukarati’s 2nd try. Just back from a spell cooling his heels in the sin bin winger Ash Elvers grabbed the next try after Stour patiently retained the ball and played the phases from the restart, gaps appearing in the tiring Tynedale defences through one of which replacement lock forward Chris Roddy was worked through deep in the Stour’s half. He made 30m before drawing the final defender and fed Elvers who’d run an inside support line.

A late revival by the visitors was comfortably contained by the Stour defences, but further scoring opportunities appeared to have dried up until the dying seconds when another long-range attack saw replacement back rower James Rodley blast through, Carpenter and Elvers keeping alive a move finished off in the corner by replacement threequarter Joe Bridger.

Fulltime 39-11 and a bonus point win that puts Stour up to 4th in the Nat. 2N table. Next week Stour travel to Chester before looking forward to a Dec 5th home encounter with an Otley side just a point ahead in 3rd.