Just when you think you have a perfect tag line on 70 minutes... Baker's Dozen Blitz Blaydon in Brilliant Battle...along come two more Tries by Niall Gibbons to make it 15 against Blaydon's 3, completing this epic encounter.

Having scribbled 5 sides of notes and half a column of scores, last game, we find a total contrast this week with 9 pages of of notes and one and a half columns of scoring. Running through the notebook revealed a certain symmetry between points and minutes! 5 after5, 12 after 12, 24 after 24, 48 after 48, 65 after 65 and 70 after 70!

It all started with Blaydon kicking off to find Tom Dodd running a strong counter move, feeding debutante Hal Riley in the centre but well defended by the visitors. Two counter kicks gave them a bit of territory but after 5 minutes Stour won lineout ball out left and Nigel Mukarati was on hand to drive over. However, it didn't take long for Blaydon to strike back through some deft chip kicking putting the home defence on the back foot. One such kick bounced nicely, sitting up for No 13 to gather just outside the 22m line. He cut inside to beat the last line of defence but Whyman failed to convert and it was very much "game on". Almost straight from the restart, Stour were camped on the 10 metre line and an enterprising and well thought out manoeuvre saw young Ben Tibbetts pluck the ball from the base of the ruck and scamper through the middle for a Robbie Forbes converted try.

Once again, the kick off saw a counter attack in the form of George Morgan who was working alongside his cousin, Hal Riley but the move broke down and Morgan was helped off with a nasty ankle injury. Reorganisation of the backs did not affect the forwards, particularly Tom Dodd and Sam Pailor whose strong and elusive running styles were going to trouble Blaydon for the rest of the afternoon. Territorial possession eventually led to a Stourbridge lineout. Once again, Mukarati was on the end of the maul and at 17 - 5, Stour had set out their stall for the reminder of the game.

Three minutes later, a move between newlywed Sam Pailor and Nick David saw the young fullback break the gain line with Josh Trinham in support. On the front foot, a simple one-two between them gave Stour their 3rd Try by Nick David which Robbie Forbes converted with some ease. It then took seven minutes for Stour to notch up their Bonus Point Try when in-form Nick Murphy crashed over after a penalty lineout that arose when a Blaydon defender tackled a man without the ball. By now, it was clear that both teams were paying the penalty for some fast and furious passages of play. In almost 7's style, the dry firm pitch was well and truly tested by everyone involved.

It was then Blaydon's turn to test the defence and they were rewarded after an alleged high tackle. The penalty kick sailed into the Stourbridge 5 metre zone only to find a "not straight" throw and Chris Scott cleared to half ay, from the scrum. This punishing clearance was followed by further Stour possession and Tom Dodd twisting and turning in a telling territorial attack. Hauled down on the 5 m line, Stour were unrewarded but they soon turned the tide with a Penalty Try on 39 minutes. A half time score of 36 - 5 meant some clear water against the Crow Trees crew and a slightly more relaxed and positive ten minutes for Mitch to make his mark.

The second half saw some sizeable changes with Niall Gibbons coming on for Dodd. Further changes were forced when Trinham's Achilles took a bang after being clattered into touch when latching on to a Nick David pass well inside the Blaydon 22. Some almost Lourdes type miracles performed by physio, Jim Williams meant that George Morgan was able to rejoin his family. He made up for his half hour absence by a trade mark break, 30 m out, dodging around several bemused defenders and Robbie Forbes added the extra two points to make it 43 - 5. It was Forbes who scored the next try in a similar vein to Tibbo's in the first half. This time, the young Fly Half stooped for the ruck ball some 35 metres out. With a step and a dart he scythed through a struggling defence, scoring out left on 48 minutes and scoring Stour's 48th point.

At this point, it is fair to say that the game was already in the bag and Blaydon's cause was not helped when they went down to 14 men and the game was punctuated by uncontested scrums as they had front row injuries. However, nobody had told replacement Joe Mongan who game a little hope when he scored just minutes later. Matt Charlton also got his name on the score sheet on 75 minutes but Joe Wyman's conversion was the last shot fired by an exhausted side who had given 100%.

In the meantime, Dan Rundle's dry spell was quenched by a brace of Tries in a 10 minute spell that also saw Hal Riley scoring a debut try and another 5 points for our consummate and possible antiquarian antipodean, Aussie asset, Rod Petty. The majority of these points were amassed after some strong and determined running by a now rampant back row of Mukarati/Gibbons/Pailor. Nick David also played his part in breaking the gain line feeding Niall Gibbons for a well deserved Try on 77 minutes. This was followed 2 minutes later by a similar passage of play and with Petty's conversion effort falling wide, referee Harry Walbaum blew the final whistle.

This was a historic victory for Stourbridge and left DoR Neil Mitchell holding some well deserved "bragging rights" over his old club but still with work to do for any hopes of promotion or play off opportunities. We sit in 4th place and Blaydon drop further into the relegation zone. However, after Saturday, the phrase containing "opera, over, singing, lady etc" should never be forgotten but gives rise to an intriguing and exciting last third to the season with just 9 points separating the top five clubs.

Sheffield Tigers were thrashed by Tynedale and Sale beat Hinckley but lost 3-2 on try count. However, perhaps the most surprising result was Wharfedale beating Chester. Next week, we (4th) take on 6th place Huddersfield who have just scored 6 Tries, away at Luctonians so we need as many supporters as possible to make the journey to the picturesque venue of Lockwood Park at an old brewery site once owned by Bass. What other excuses or reasons do you need!?