So! This had to be the “Match of the Day” in this tough league with both sides fighting for bragging rights for who retains a 100%-win record.

Possibly one of the most talked about games for many a season, the 600 + crowd were not disappointed although somewhat surprised on occasions by certain on field decisions made by the officials.

Sedgley Park, who were sitting top of the table, at 3:00 pm had not lost a game but actually drawn one in a 3 Try thriller ending 22-22. On the other hand, the hosts had won all 8 of their fixtures. Sedgley Park’s arsenal included the ever-reliable Steve Collins with 84 points whilst Hooker, Matt Gallagher shared 4th place on Try scoring with our own Jack Lea and Dan Rundle – all with 8 apiece. Brothers Andrew and Matt Riley, together with Tom Ailes would also fit into any team. However, the hosts were missing Chad Thorne (torn Bicep) Alfie Bell and Kofi Cripps both recalled by Wasps.

The visitors started as they meant to continue by running the ball at almost every opportunity and they were rewarded after just 5 minutes when a penalty took them into the Stour ’22. The lineout ball was sent out right into the hands of Andrew Riley who dotted down in the corner leaving a difficult but well taken conversion for Collins. Within 5 minutes Stour returned the favour but, this time, the penalty lineout was retained by a dominant pack, Jack Lea rolling and turning, eventually giving the ball to Nigel Mukarati, under the posts for Michael Heaney to slot over.
After a long kick restart, Afe Haisila broke back into Sedgley’s half, but the ball was eventually back with Sedge, only to be knocked on – scrum to Stour. The ball was sent out to Arthur Morgan and the powerful centre made no mistake in scoring with Heaney converting and giving Stour a 14-7 lead. Unfortunately, this only lasted 2 minutes following a penalty and (mistaken identity) Yellow Card against Joe Heatley. Matt Gallagher threw in at the lineout only to regather and crash over on the 20-minute mark. Collins missed the conversion, and it was some 10 minutes before the scoreboard was troubled again, this time by Dan Rundle. It followed a long raking penalty kick that took play deep into Sedge territory. The lineout ball was recycled and a miss pass found the speedy winger who out stripped the defence, scoring by the left side corner post. Heaney’s conversion was a marvel to behold but this was followed by several passages of play that allowed Sedge to narrow the gap courtesy of a Jamie Harrison (unconverted) Try. Stour did have the last word from Heaney whose well struck penalty made it 24-17 on the stroke of half time.
After 40 minutes, it was clear to all that both sides were demonstrating some superb skills, determination and fighting spirit that would last for the remainder of the match. On the plus side, Stour had serious set piece dominance at scrum time but let themselves down with some kicking that failed to make touch and several occasions when players were stripped of possession in the tackle.

The visitors restarted the second half, and the play was almost a direct repeat of the first 5 minutes. This time, Sedge, under severe pressure, failed to make any ground with their clearance kick. Hooker Jack Lea threw the lineout ball and regained at the back of the maul. His strength and guile saw him crash over but Heaney missed a difficult conversion opportunity. This gave Stour their Bonus Point Try on 44 minutes. It seemed to ignite Sedgley Park’s efforts who were awarded no fewer than 6 penalties in as many minutes. The pressure was finally too much when No 8 Tom Ailes picked the ball from the back of a ruck, running straight through, untouched for Collins to convert and a 29-24 scoreline.

They had to wait 13 minutes to draw level and take the lead for the first time as the industrious hooker, Matt Gallagher touched down followed by a tricky conversion by Steven Collins. Stour continued their scrum dominance but, at one of the following breakdowns, much to the surprise of 600 people, the penalty went in favour of the visitors! Time was ticking by and with the loss of another Stour player through the Yellow card, the home crowd’s collective rear was starting to twitch! Thanks to some neat play, including breaks by replacement Mike Penn, Stour found themselves with a penalty, 40 metres out. Distance was not a problem but the ball flew agonisingly close past the left upright.
Undeterred Stour continued to attack, again through Penn but the last play he saw resulted in a nasty leg wound meaning he would be unable to continue. However, his efforts were not in vain as the passage of play was rewarded with a penalty. It was 30 metres out, to the right and the ‘wrong side’ for right footed Michael Heaney. Once Penn had been treated, he was moved to the side and Heaney (who was Stour’s captain) did not hesitate in pointing at the posts. Had we been playing in Spain, the crowd would now been commenting on Michael having “cojones grandes”. The initial buzz of excitement from the crowd was soon followed by a deathly silence last witnessed at 3:00 when a 2-minute period of remembrance was observed. Cool and confident, Stour’s skipper stepped up and sent the ball straight through the middle of the posts. The crowd erupted, the coaches erupted, and the players erupted, running onto the pitch in a frenzy of congratulations that would not have looked out of place had England just won the football World Cup!

This was a great victory, hard earned and highly deserved. Playing with 14 men for 65 minutes and with a Bonus Point victory it sent a strong message out to the other teams in this league, spectators, home supporters and Stourton Park faithful.
We still have a long way to go including games against Rotherham Fylde and Hull. However, it all starts with a local derby fixture next week when we travel to Bournville so let’s see as many supporters as we can making the 11-mile journey to Avery Fields.