Hosts hit the half-century in a clinical performance against a struggling Otley side that refused to lie down. This moves the home side up to 7th place but still with some way to go before they start to bother the top three teams that include next weeks opposition Sedgley Park who are 17 points clear and, in turn, are 16 behind Caldy. That said, lowly Huddersfield remain 3rd from bottom despite having beaten 2nd spot Fylde with a bonus point win!

Saturday’s game at Stourton Park saw some particularly nasty weather in the form of strong winds and driving rain. Conditions did ease slightly towards the final whistle but not enough to have any meaningful effect on the outcome. Otley kicked off the game, against the wind and rain and, almost immediately knocked on whilst fielding a return box kick. Stour then won two quick scrum penalties that took them deep into Otley territory. Rather than opt of a simple 3 points, the second scrum was retaken and the ball was sent out right to Afeafe Lokotui. With little space but playing in a position that seems to suit, “Afe” shimmied his way clear for a nicely worked Try, which Callum Morris slotted over with just 6 minutes gone.

The restart saw an enthusiastic Reece Beddows carded for taking the Otley recipient out whilst still in the air and Stour were down to 14 men. However, the visitors seemed unable to capitalize on numerical superiority spending most of the first 25 minutes inside their own half. This was thanks to some strong counter attacks by Joe Heatley, Dan Rundle and Mark Harrison, combined with excellent tactical kicks from Callum Morris. It was an Otley error that led to the second Try on 23 minutes when their knock on produced another scrum penalty 40 metres out which was kicked into the corner. The ball was recycled for several phases before being sent back, finding a pop pass to the returned Reece Beddows whose speed and line of running took him inside the hapless defender, over the line and close enough for Morris to convert.

The Stourton Park crowd had to wait 10 minutes for the next score, this time courtesy of an archetypal Jack Lea move from the back of a maul. This, again, was a direct result of a scrum penalty and again followed by a Morris conversion. The restart saw a brief period of Otley fight back but the attack was thwarted when the ball was ripped free and released to a rampant Stef Thorp who had been busy for most of the match (including some crunching tackles). His offload to Nigel Mukarati was then transferred to Dan Rundle, very much on the front foot. Rundle then ‘feigned’ his move to stand up the Otley defender and, still with plenty of work to do, the speedy winger galloped over in the left corner for a Bonus Point Try.

The half time whistle blew and the scoreboard showed a healthy 26 -0 lead but with onlookers contemplating if this would be enough, given the wind advantage that would favour Otley in the second 40 minutes. Such fears were soon put to rest when, with just a few minutes of play Stour regained possession and control when the ball was sent out right to Reece Beddows. He passed to Mark Harrison and, still with half the pitch ahead of him, Harrison turned on the after burners and shot past his would be tacklers for a fine and well deserved Try.
The Otley restart found Harrison, again but his telling break was thwarted after a subsequent Stour knock on. It was then Afeafe’s turn to break from deep, setting Joe Heatley free. He cut inside and cantered over the Try line for Callum Morris to convert and settling any fear of danger with a lead of 38 – 0 and 49 minutes played. This was followed by a significant turning point in the game that may have been crucial had the lead been slender. An Otley injury meant that uncontested scrums would be required for the remainder of the game. Whilst Stour would then have a player advantage, it did mean that their potency at the set piece had been removed and Otley had a hope of better ball.

George Morgan made an excellent break but his offload to the supporting player was then given away to Otley who immediately countered. This was followed by another Stour error after the referee called a ‘no arms’ tackle. The resulting attacks were called back after a number of Otley errors but with 20 minutes left to play, the visitors put together a string of moves leaving their hosts with plenty of defending to do. Their efforts were rewarded after an Otley player was injured and had to leave the field. However, when play restarted with an uncontested scrum on 5 metres, it was inevitable that a score was imminent as Right Wing, Henry Roberts crashed over with Ben Smith (not the All Black) converting from a difficult angle.

From the restart, Stour exerted more pressure and Rundle was unlucky not to score from a trademark run including his ‘chip and chase’! Errors in the form of knock on plays and forward passes meant that Stour were still in striking range. A maul was ‘held up’ but the scrum ball was given back to Dan Rundle who was well rewarded when his acute angle of running and speed saw him beat several defenders to score out right. This has kept him at the top of the Try scoring table, ahead of Caldy’s Nick Royle.

The Otley restart produced a Stourbridge knock on followed by a probing if somewhat speculative Otley kick. The Stour defender had no alternative but to carry over his own line giving Otley a 5 metre (uncontested) scrum. This was sent back to No 12 Gavin Stead who, in all fairness, had been troublesome for a lot of the game. The score went unconverted and a 43 – 12 scoreline was expected to remain.

However, the hosts restarted the game and an Otley counter attack ensued. Enter Callum Morris who, somehow, snaffled the ball to the surprise of most onlookers. His sprint to the line was unhindered and the young Scrum Half converted his own score for a personal tally of 15 points. In spite of a promising combined Heatley/Beddows break, the score remained at 50 – 12 until (the excellent) referee Joe James, blew for full time. Stour come away with maximum points whilst, more importantly denying their visitors of any spoils.

A victory next week at Park Lane would mean that Stourbridge could move up another place to 6th spot so your support is needed at this relatively nearby fixture.