Stour returned to winning ways on Saturday by running in six converted trys against a strong side who were determined to do battle up to the final whistle.

A Heatley hat-trick and Heaney’s 100% strike rate with the boot were significant contributions but all 20 players combined in this excellent all-round performance that sends a strong message to other clubs in this highly competitive league. DoR Neil Mitchell needed to make some last-minute changes as Chris Scott had to withdraw from the starting line-up, following some friendly fire in the pre-match warm up. He took a nasty blow to the jaw that meant Afeafe Haisila Lokotui had to move to No 10, Mark Harrison started at Full Back and Ben O’Sullivan came in on the bench.

The visitors kicked off proceedings with a strong wind advantage that they used to its fullest throughout the first half. However, it wasn’t long before Stour’s forward power began to tell and, a win against the head, gave Joe Heatley an opportunity to show his speed, leading to a penalty after a ‘no arms’ tackle. The lineout possession created a driving maul that moved in field and the ball was popped out to Arthur Morgan whose strength and line of running took him through two tackles and the first try with just 6 minutes on the clock.

The next 10 minutes saw both sides exchanging territory through some exciting breaks by Afe and Arthur whilst danger men Britton and Laverick posed their own threats in response. Ionians nearly levelled the score had it not been for a scrambled defence and James Rodley saving the moment. Stour extended their lead on 19 minutes when a beautifully crafted move between Afe, Joe Heatley and Dan Rundle gave the speedster winger his 12th try of the season and a simple kick for his skipper, Michael Heaney. Ionians responded almost straight after the kick-off when a 35-metre penalty was slotted over by Ben Smith making it 14-3.

For the remainder of the half things went very much in favour of the hosts but a number of wasted opportunities kept the scorer untroubled for a quarter of an hour until Heatley struck the first of his trio! It started deep inside home territory as Ionians battered a Stour defence that conceded several penalties and gave referee Dan Parrott due reason to issue a stern warning. However, the defence held up well and Stour were able to pounce on a loose ball, winning a penalty of their own. Their attack came through some excellent running by Afe, Rundle and Nigel Mukarati eventually finding Heatley with work to do! His converted try on 35 minutes left the score at 21-3 but the hapless centre was unable to finish the half after referee Parrott pulled out a Yellow Card adjudging a deliberate knock-on. An Ionians attack was thwarted with the ball being held up which, under new laws, meant a try line drop out by the Stour defence. The kick seemed good but, against a very strong wind, the ball rose, stalled, and fell into the grateful arms of Hull players. With a one man advantage, the pressure took its toll leading to a relatively simple try by Nathan Hill, converted by Smith. Half time score, 21-10.

The second half was to see another three homemade scores but, as with the first 40 minutes chances were made and lost through some careless play whilst home and visitor lineout losses were also a concern for the coaching staff.

It took just 6 minutes for Stour to score first in a replica move that ended the first half! It started when Ionians had a try line drop out that also stalled against the wind! Jack Lea’s bullocking return run made some valuable territory (a lot more than his normal 5 metres) and a neat off load to his front row teammate, Stef Thorpe gave the industrious prop a well-deserved score, a simple kick for Heaney and a team bonus point.

The next score was to be made by the visitors who touched down over in the left corner whilst most of the crowd’s attention was focussed on a scuffle between James Rodley and his North-eastern adversary. Centre Britton was rewarded for all his previous hard running but the strong wind and distance was too far out for the 53rd minute score to get converted. Stour responded well after Jasper Smith made a trademark break from within Stour’s own ’22. The DoR’s man of the Match wreaked havoc before the ball was released and the Heatley/Heaney combo worked their magic to make it 35-15 just after the hour mark.

Two minutes later, a Stour penalty, Mark Harrison break and scrum dominance gave Heaney clean ball from the set piece and his well-timed pass hit the same line as Heatley’s run to complete a hat-trick for himself and a 100% kicking record for his captain. Whilst the remaining 15 minutes went scoreless, both sides threatened each other’s defence. The hosts final passing letting them down whilst the game ended after Ionians were ‘held up’ in the tackle within the Stourbridge ’22 area.

This was only Ionians 5th loss out of 13 games but an important win that sees Stourbridge in 4th place just 3 points behind league leaders Sedgley Park and with two games in hand! At the other end of the spectrum, the Lions lost to their league leaders, Leek and now find themselves with an uphill struggle to guarantee league safety.

Next week, we travel to Luctonians and hope that this festive local derby will draw a large gathering of the Stourton Park faithful to support our final game of 2021.