Clinical, committed, consistent and cohesive are all words that you will not see in this match report. One dimensional, disjointed, disappointing and diabolical are more likely to feature!

Conditions could have been described as ‘sticky’, given the amount of rain earlier in the week and whilst it was cold, there was little wind and a blue sky. The afternoon was bound to favour the home team with playing patterns more suited to the heavy going. Indeed, the hosts who made constant forays toward Stour’s try line dominated both set piece and loose play.

Hinckley kicked off proceedings and, perhaps, the tone of the game was set when the receiver knocked the ball on and Stour spent most of the first 10 minutes inside their own ‘22’, very much on the back foot but just about managing to repel all boarders! Against the run of play, Stour were able to advance into enemy territory and, after winning a penalty (high tackle) were able to put together a number of promising phases. However, not for the only time, they came away empty handed, this time by virtue of a penalty and Hinckley needed no encouragement to press home a swift counter. Several pairs of hands sent the ball out to the left wing and a floundering defence allowed Centre, Mitch Lamb to race over the line for a well worked Try that Joe Wilson was unable to convert.

Thanks to some clever kicking, Scrum Half Callum Morris was able to put his team into the Hinckley half which eventually led to a Stour penalty following an offside decision. Chris Scott kicked for points and it was now 5 – 3 to the hosts with a quarter of the game gone. This was the first and last time that the scoreboard moved for the visitors but it ticked merrily along for the home side, including 5 minutes later.

A Stourbridge player was penalized for being on the wrong side of a ruck and Joe Wilson stroked the ball over from 30 metres out. This was followed by further penalty concessions until some good work by Stef Thorp dispossessed Hinckley of the ball when he drove himself through a ruck forcing a Hinckley knock on! Wilson hit a second penalty on 32 minutes, this time from 35 metres out and after a scrum penalty straight in front of the posts.

Stour did mount a promising attack from the kick restart and were able to win a penalty, sending the kick deep into Hinckley territory and a lineout. However, they were unable to retain possession and two penalties later found themselves defending a lineout deep inside their own ‘22’! The hosts made no mistakes and sent the ball out left. In a well-rehearsed passage of play, the ball was popped back inside, instead of heading for the wing. Enter Mitch Lamb for his second Try of the game as his good line and well timed burst sent him over, virtually untouched. Wilson kicked the extras, the referee blew for half time and, all of a sudden, Stour had a mountain to climb, being 18 – 3 down.

Stourbridge kicked off the second half and, for a while, looked like the half time talk had made an impression. However, apart from a Dan Rundle break and some more skills from the Callum Morris boot, were unable to manage any more points. The penalty count (for both teams) continued to mount and was averaging about one every 3 minutes. It took until the 75th minute for the score to change when another scrum penalty gave Hinckley a pushover Try thanks to their captain, Alex Salt and Joe Wilson’s conversion.

Yet again, Stour had a chance to improve their score after Scott’s kick to touch, courtesy of a penalty, straight from the restart. Some good defending meant the visitors were unable to break through and, indeed, were forced back towards the ‘22’ line. In desperation, a speculative pass went astray and the hosts stormed into Stour’s half. There looked to be knock on but neither referee nor AR acknowledged it and Hinckley were now well inside Stour’s own ‘22’. Scrum and loose maul dominance gave them their Bonus Point Try scored by replacement Luke Coltman, converted by Wilson and a final scoreline of 32 – 3.

The hosts could have amassed more points had not their penalty kicking found touch more often, thus allowing Stour to clear the dangers. Stour were also guilty of throwing opportunities away through poor decision making and unforced errors at key moments when on the offensive. Both teams were also responsible for giving away needless penalties as well as failing to secure clean lineout possession. However, the differences between the two sides were three fold. Hinckley played with more heart, had a more clinical finish with ball in hand and dominated their own, as well as opponents’, scrum set pieces.

This was one of the poorest performances seen by Stourbridge supporters, for many years and does not reflect or reward the care and hard work of the management team. Whether it is parent’s evenings, exam revision or ‘tummy trouble’ team members who make themselves unavailable for training or match days need to rethink matters. These players should accept that they not only let themselves down but also other, more committed team players, SRFC infrastructure and all the loyal followers who give support verbally, physically and financially!

Although Saturday’s result has not changed league positions, it does mean that the next three games before Christmas are vital and “must wins” for Stourbridge, unless they want to start 2020 heading towards the relegation zone. Next week, we host Chester who are only one point behind us but with a game in hand. After that, we travel to table topping Caldy before getting a visit from an ascendant Luctonians side who have just beaten Preston 29-3!