Saturday’s encounter between the top two teams in the league was always going to be a hard fought contest and to lighten the pre match mood, several references were made to Enya’s 1988 hit song, Orinoco Flow (Sail Away). However, it is more appropriate to compare the game to Nat King Cole’s 1957 song (Red Sails in the sunset) as the blood flowed and a Red Card ruined the afternoon and any meaningful chance of an even contest.
Sale started the game well with a long kick off deep into Stour’s left field. The clearance kick was charged down forcing an attacking lineout after the visitors were found guilty of “holding on” to the ball. This set up a driving maul and tighthead Joe Kelly bulldozed over the line and No 10 Chris Johnson added the extras. Two minutes on the clock and 7 nil down was disappointing but not insurmountable.
The next five minutes were evenly contested, both sides opting for territory through some tactical kicking. The ball eventually found touch on the half way line and an off the ball incident took place between Chad Thorne and his opposite number. Experienced pundits would refer to this as nothing but “handbags” but the intervention of another player changed the dynamics completely. After some discussions with the touch judge, Referee Ben Davis called over captain Sam Pailor and showed him a Red Card. This was then followed by an exchange that Fred Karno would have welcomed in his circus! The Sale cameraman intervened and advised the touch judge that the wrong player had been identified. The ensuing discussion caused Davis to rescind Pailor’s card and show it to Thorne. Given the prone position of the two players, on the ground, it was a physical impossibility for Chad to have completed the act of which he was accused.
Those who witnessed the proceedings would all agree that a Red Card was the only option Davis could take. However, it is incredible that the officials should believe the word of a lone cameraman who was further away from the incident, let alone change their original (and correct) decision!
Surely, this must have been an unprecedented, unconventional and totally inappropriate course of action that would cause some unease within the governing NCA and RFU hierarchy? Stourbridge have already witnessed that 14 men can defeat 15 (Leicester Lions 2 years ago) but the loss of a quality prop like Chad Thorne meant the contest was over after just seven minutes.
As fate would have it, Stour were soon reduced to 13 players when Stef Thorp had to be treated for a nasty gash on his head. The 10 minutes of treatment meant uncontested scrums and Stour had to sacrifice a player, in accordance with RFU regulations. In this time, Sale landed 10 points through a Chris Johnson penalty and later conversion of No 8 Jake Barron’s try just 2 minutes later. The latter came off the back of a penalty lineout and a weakened line of defence.
At this point, Stourbridge rallied and threatened the Sale line on several occasions. When Sale did attack they looked threatening with breaks by centre Jack Moorhouse, Mark Lawrence (15) and left wing Sam Stelmaszek. The defence was stretched with full back Nick David having to cover most of the back line. This was a result of bringing off Dan Rundle in favour of Callum Bowden who returned to sure up the forwards. Chris Scott also completed a number of turnovers where his strength and low centre of gravity stopped Sale from recycling the ball.
It wasn’t until the half hour mark that the home side scored their third try and this followed a penalty lineout. Sale secured the ball and their Man of the Match, Adam Aigbokhae crashed over towards the left side of the posts but Johnson’s conversion attempt hit the RH upright. The rest of the half went scoreless but not without some good play by the backs. A move instigated by a Nick David break being perhaps the highlight for Stour but the final pass was adjudged forward and the half time whistle blew.
With heavy rain now falling, Stourbridge kicked off the second half that saw some outstanding defensive work by the visitors. Opposition lineout ball was stolen, set piece scrum dominance gave penalties and further turnovers by Scott ensured that Sale were denied much of their hard earned territory and possession. The visitors’ best chance of scoring came after 58 minutes when Pailor was held up over the line after a number of lineout plays and scrums on Sale’s 5-metre line.
Alas, Sale eventually won a scrum penalty of their own and this gave them much-needed breathing space and a chance to clear the line. On 66 minutes, Stour conceded another penalty and the resulting counter attack failed at the last moment through a forward pass and an overlap begging. At this stage, Jack Spencer had to leave the pitch following his third stoppage for injury. Referee Davis requested his departure but this meant that the remainder of the game had to be played with 13 just men and uncontested scrums for the second time.
This not only meant Stour had lost the set piece advantage but also stretched defensive cover. Both sides then traded penalties and with 30 seconds left on the clock the hosts were running out of time to score their Bonus Point try. However, Johnson spotted a space out wide to the left, chipping over the thin pink line. The winger gathered the ball and his inside pass to No 13 Chris Mayor completed the move for Sale’s first score in 50 minutes! The final whistle blew as Johnson’s conversion sailed over.
Once again, our opponents awarded Man of the Match to the ever-industrious Nigel Mukarati but our own choice goes to Hal Riley who was ever present in attack and defence. Praise must go to all 20 players who never lost hope showing spirit and pride in wearing Stourbridge colours. Stef Thorp who played most of the game with a massive cut on his head, Chris Scott who punched well above his weight, Nick David and Josh Trinham who covered acres of space in covering the last line of defence….I could go on but the word count is mounting!
In spite of a heroic effort, Stourbridge came away with nothing but a sense of pride. The other results mean that we are now in 3rd place, 10 points behind the leaders and 2 behind Sedgley Park. Next week, Sedge host Otley who turned over Hinckley (at Hinckley) and Stourbridge entertain Sheffield Tigers after “The beast from the East” flew past Stourton Park last weekend. Kick off is at 13:00 with the England v Ireland game showing after, on the big screen. We still have 6 games to play and look forward to seeing as many people as possible given four matches are to be played at home.