The scoreline offers scant consolation to the hosts who enjoyed near parity in territory and possession but were unable to match the Saxons' physicality and clinical finishing.

The Saxons kicked off, Stockport probing their close defences ball in hand before an exchange of kicks. Both sides coughed up possession from lineout errors before Stockport ran the ball wide in attack. The patient Saxons defence soaked it up until a knock-on gifted them possession and they countered ball in hand, a half-break from Sione Tu’ipolotu down the left side followed by a big cutout pass to the right from Caolan Ryan who had moved up into the backline. Ben Barkley fed Nathan Bressington who got round the outside of his opponent before drawing the full back and shipping a simple return pass to Barkley who crashed over in the right corner. Ryan’s conversion attempt came back off the post protector, 5min 0-5.

White found another long touch from the restart and Robbie Hurrell stole Stockport’s throw. The ball was moved right where Ryan’s entry into the line put Bressington into space again but the cover forced the attack into touch and they kicked clear. Mr Edmunds issued the first penalty of the match for a Saxons obstruction but Stockport knocked on again enabling the Saxons to move it right from the scrum but the defence on Bressington was much tighter this time, isolating him in the tackle to concede a penalty. Stockport drove a maul off the lineout then got a runner through the defensive line, forcing a goal line siege which ended with Mark George managing to hold up a ball carrier over the line but penalty advantage was being played for a side entry. Stockport kicked for the corner but their drives again got held up in goal and then they were unceremoniously shunted off their scrum ball, enabling Tu’ipolotu to kick clear. The hosts countered with a quick throw in but the Saxons’ kick chase was good and the defence had driven Stockport back into their own midfield before a penalty was conceded at the tackle. Stockport’s next drives were repelled before lineout steals from Ben Hughes and then Robbie Hurrell allowed the Saxons to counter at pace from their own 22. The ball was passed across the width of the pitch three times before Rich Stott put Gary Dipple into space in the Stockport 22. A last ditch tackle brought him down short of the line but he was close enough to reach out and ground the ball for the try. Ryan converted, 25min 0-12.

The restart saw the Saxons concede a scrum deep in their 22 for an accidental offside, Stockport laid siege to the line again but the defence held firm through multiple phases and forced Stockport back before a penalty was conceded for a high tackle. Stockport tapped and ran but a huge hit by Will Hurrell forced the ball carrier backwards and a good counter-ruck secured a turnover with which the Saxons countered, the move halted illegally near halfway by an offside Stockport defender who argued the toss and got marched back 10m by Mr Edmunds. The Saxons kicked to the 22 and launched a driving maul that was halted illegally, undaunted they kicked to the corner and this time drove the maul over successfully with Mukarati the man scoring their 100th league try of the season. Ryan converted, 37min 0-19.

Knowing their use of the slope was about to end Stockport threw everything into a final assault on the Saxons line, running the restart clearance back and linking effectively but still they couldn’t penetrate the defensive lines and eventually knocked on. With the clock over 40min the Saxons kicked the ball dead and that was half time.

Stockport ramped the tempo up again at the start of the 2nd half, running ball in hand from deep and benefitting from some unusually lax tackling to break down the right side and stretch the defence before Ryan’s tackle forced a knock on. The counter came to nothing and back pressed Stockport, their centre breaking the line but again a knock on enabled the Saxons to kick clear. Stockport were nothing if not dogged though and came again but eventually Tu’ipolotu was able to hold an attacker off the floor and the maul went static for a turnover. The Saxons drove the scrum some distance before Ben Barkley’s direct run sucked in the defence and the Saxons advanced into Stockport’s 22 with a series of short drives. The ball was spun back left where Tu’ipolotu got a pass away off the floor for Ben Hughes to claim the bonus point try. Ryan’s conversion landed deep in the conifers, 49min 0-26.

The customary restart kick exchange ended with a Stockport drive that drew a Saxons hand in the ruck and the hosts kicked for touch in the Saxons’ 22. They moved it left and right but were again unable to breach resolute defence and a knock on enabled Will Hurrell to counter at pace before a pass went astray. Further turnovers were traded before a Saxons’ tackler was penalised for not releasing and Stockport kicked it back to the 22. On came Roy-Smith, Page & Depper. A Saxons knock-on conceded a scrum near the Stockport 22 where Roy-Smith reacted quickest to ball squirting out of the side, he fed Tu’ipolotu who advanced against a misaligned defence then took the simplest of returns off the floor to run in unhindered for the 5th try which Ryan converted, 63min 0-33.

The restart was secured by Stockport who attacked and secured a penalty at the tackle that was kicked to touch in the Saxons’ 22. It was moved left where a Saxons’ counter-ruck turned it over but the clearance kick missed touch and Stockport countered right where their left winger managed to run round a defender to score a try that went unconverted. 67min 5-33.

Nick Adams replaced Tom Brown and Tu’ipolotu come off with Jarvis moving to full back and Ryan to outside half. Robbie Hurrell secured a shallow restart and the ball was moved right where Bressington’s chip into the in goal was covered by the defenders for a 22 dropout. Hughes secured the restart and the ball was worked left where a Will Hurrell line break was hauled down just short of the line but the Saxons but coughed up possession when Barkley was penalised for holding on in the tackle. Stockport tried to run it from the shadow of their posts but their ball carrier got penalised for the same offence and the Saxons regrouped as Ryan kicked for the corner. Lineout ball was moved right where Ryan snuck through a half gap and the ball was worked to Jarvis entering the line at pace, he drew the final defender and put Bressington in for a well worked converted try. 76min 5-40.

The restart kick exchange yielded a Saxons scrum for a knock on, after several phases it was worked right through Page to Jarvis who repeated the trick to give Bressington a 40m run in to the corner down the right touchline. Ryan couldn’t convert, full time 5-45.

Coach Mike Umaga commented : ‘Looking at the league table you have to say that Stockport’s basement position is no reflection of their skill and performance levels, they played a positive game of rugby that gave our defence a thorough workout today, just one lapse and they were in for a try. My man of the match was Nigel Mukarati, who worked selflessly and immensely hard in defence, Gary Dipple also put in a very good performance’.