Who would have hoped for 8 wins and 7th place by the beginning of February? Given a fair wind with availability and concentration a place in the top half of the table should not be beyond this squad.

The game was barely 15 minutes old when the Lions were 15 nil up. A penalty converted by Rhys Williams was followed by a Tim Daly touchdown after a series of phases. From the Stoke restart a flowing move featuring backs and forwards led to Williams putting Tom Noott over. A Williams conversion left the Lions exultant and Stoke shell-shocked.

Another try by Scotty Langdon after a passing move from half-way left him to crash over; the 2 points were again added by Williams for a 22-nil lead. However, Stoke began their recovery with a fine try and conversion to register their first points after almost 30 minutes. The Lions came back with the bonus points from a Jack Noott try after a turnover in midfield and a passing exchange down the left. The resultant kick from the touchline by Rhys Williams to the Lions out to 29 points, the only blemish being a converted try by Stoke to leave the score 29-14 at the half.
The second half opened with an opportunist Lions score, another turnover near halfway and a fine Jones run and pass to Will King to go over in the corner. Another fine conversion gave the Lions a 22 point lead at this point but Stoke were not yet done. A huge amount of pressure led to 2 further Stoke tries with one converted to pull back to a 10 point deficit.

Things were looking tight for the Lions, given the later surge and win by Stoke in the earlier fixture before Christmas. However, the Lions found their feet again and 20 minutes in they scored a team drive when the pack drove over and Joe Loverock was last up with the ball. A further try from George Tildesley 4 minutes later, with a 50m sprint to the line left the result in little doubt. The try was converted by Williams for a 48-26 lead.

A number of subsequent promising moves followed but were prevented by last ditch defence and some handling errors. Finally, Rhys Williams converted a penalty to end the game as he had begun it and to leave Stourbridge 51-26 winners.

The Lions are now 20 or so points clear of the relegation places and are looking up from 7th place in the League. There were many outstanding performances, but it was a team effort throughout. Next up is Camp Hill, with the prospect of further victories down the line.

Match Report by JON DEWS, pics by SIAN DAVIES