Stoke hammered.

Basingstoke 14 pts v Westcombe Park 29 pts

Stoke sunk to their second defeat of the current campaign at home to Westcombe Park. It was the type of game Stoke must learn to win if they are to survive in this league.

Playing with the wind Stoke dominated most of the first half but went in at half-time only 4 points up. They couldn't have got of to a better start when after only 2 minutes Fraser Jones went over for the third time in as many games. A superb effort from inside his own half betting several players and collecting his own chip and chase at the end. Ian Calder converted for a 7-0 lead. Stoke had many chances to extend their lead but failed to convert chances into points. Then after 15 minutes Westcombe punished Stoke for their inability to take their chances with a converted try of their own from fly-half Ben Thomas to level the scores. Basingstoke retook this lead though after 25 minutes of play. Good link up play between forwards and backs put Chris Norton over for his first try of the campaign and a conversion from Ian Calder restored the lead to 7 points. Stoke applied pressure for the rest of the half but were unable to find a way through some stern Westcombe defending. On the stroke of half-time Basingstoke's lead was reduced to 4 points when Westcombe converted a penalty on the 22.

Half time Basingstoke 14 pts v Westcombe Park 10 pts

This meant that Stoke went in to half-time only 14-10 up after dominating a half full of mistakes and knock-ons. And facing a strong wind in the second period could not have started worse. Park's number 8 was sin-binned for stamping but they still managed to take the lead with an unconverted try.
Stoke's chances of victory were dented further with the loss of try scorer Fraser Jones and hard working Della-Savina. This enabled Westcombe to extend their lead to 9 points with a penalty and then an unconverted try when Stoke tried to be to clever at a restart and it backfired. With a further injury to Tony Jones who came on as a sub meaning that usually flanking Marcus Reeve was playing on the wing and Stokes lack of discipline resulted in there being no way back into the game for them.
A further penalty and drop goal made the win safe at 29-14. Stoke showed encouraging signs in the last few minutes of play, looking to score a consolation try even though the game was lost. But it was not to be and Westcombe went away with the points.

Player-coach Calder later said: We have gone up a league and are yet to adapt to it. The players have the ability but may need a few more games to do this, secure our confidence and league status. We were not 15 points worse than Westcombe on our 1st half display. Tom Dean was always a thorn in the side for the opposition and had an excellent game for his man-of-the-match and Nigel Hooker again controlled the lineouts.

NEXT GAME Saturday 21st September Away to Lydney, Powergen Cup 1st round.

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