|
Superb Performance Basingstoke
50 pts v Redruth 15 pts Stoke took an early lead through an Ian Calder penalty after 2 mins but were then pinned in their own 22 from countless Redruth attacks. They managed to break Basingstoke's line of defence after 5 mins with an unconverted catch and drive try from a lineout for a 5-3 lead. Redruth then missed a penalty before furthering their advantage to 10-3 with another lineout move resulting in a try. Stokes line was crossed again after 16 minutes, a simple run in for flanker James Lancaster when Redruth worked an overlap. Stoke began to venture into the Redruth 22 again and after 2 successive lineouts went close to scoring but a last ditch interception nearly produced a try at the other end for Redruth. The Redruth line was eventually crossed by prop and man-of-the-match Steve Buttle hacking the ball on from 40 metres and winning the race to the ball to reduce Stoke's arrears to 15-8 at half-time. Half time Basingstoke 8 pts v Redruth 15 pts Stoke started the second half with a bang and set the tone for the second half after only 45 seconds of play. Chris Norton running in under the posts, with Calder adding the extra 2 points. Stoke continued this pressure and 3 minutes later after a patient build up Tom Dean crossed from close range. Again converted by Calder. After 15 minutes Chris Norton scored his second try of the game, when good build up play again allowed him to run in unopposed. By this point free flowing Stoke were unstoppable and two further tries were added in quick succession. The first came from a Neal Taylor chip followed up by Dave Lambert who scored under the posts. The second was the try of the match with forwards and backs linking brilliantly, keeping the ball alive. The try was eventually scored by Phil Della-Savina, catching a poor pass for Stokes 6th try. Both were converted by Calder. This put the game beyond doubt, but Stoke were still hungry and looked to score more tries. Some excellent defence kept Redruth out during a rare attack before Stoke took advantage of having an extra man when Redruth had 2 players sin-binned to Stokes 1 following a punch-up. Matt Evans capped a superb performance from the front row with a try after Ian Calder had beaten two defenders. Calder converted for a final scoreline of 50-15. The forwards in particular played well to keep a good supply of ball for the backs to use. Once Stoke began to play with more control in the tackle situation and Redruth could not compete. After Ian Calder said "We have worked hard in the last week to establish some pattern to our game. It allowed us to play with more discipline and control once we put it into practice. The forwards deserve full praise for their efforts which enabled Tom Dean to have a supply of ball, giving the team options of how to use second and third phase ball." Stoke team: C Norton, R Holmes, B Kirwan(J Rees), N Taylor, I Calder, T Dean, S St. Bernard(M Reeve), R Baker, P Della-savina, N Hooker, K Chapman, S Buttle, M Evans, S Collins. subs not used: A Wilson, A Byett.
NEXT GAME Saturday 26th October home to Camberley,National 3 South.
|