Another win!

Basingstoke 31 pts v London Nigerians 12 pts

On return to league action at Down Grange FX backed Stoke were made to fight all the way by the visitors London Nigerians. With other results going Stokes way this was another piece in the jigsaw to move away from any relegation fears. The opening exchanges went the way of the visitors with their bigger side securing early possession and putting Stoke on the back foot. A penalty on 10 minutes in front of the Stoke posts was badly missed and an early let off for the home side. This almost was a wake up call and inspired Stoke to play better rugby and settle down to a pattern of play that moved them into their opponents 22. Recycling the ball effectively and finding openings in the visitors defence was rewarded with a great spell of play. In a 5 minute spell Stoke opened up a 21-nil lead playing some delightful rugby. First on 23 minutes Feausi broke through to score then on 24 Maxwell finished off a spell of pressure to crash over and then on 28 minutes it was the turn of Buckland to round off a good passage of play for another score. All three were converted by Berti to give the team and crowd something to warm then on this cold afternoon. Stoke then seemed to switch off and relax with players not continuing to do well the basic style that had given them the lead.

Nigerians, never known to give up battled back and struck blows to the home side a minute either side of half time. On 41 minutes of the 1st half the visitors were rewarded with a try from their larger than life winger named Junior who went over from 5 metres out with 3 men hanging on to him for 5 points. Then with almost the first phase of play in the second half a Nigerian player picked the ball out of a ruck on the bindsie of the ref, who was probably the best ref we have seen this year and contributed to the game, to move from half way and find support to score under the posts for an easy conversion. This was now only a 21-12 lead for the home side and still with a lot to play for. Stoke regained their composure but a combination of basic errors giving away the possession and the visitors slowing the game down with injuries meant the flow of the game became disjointed. The home side then settled the game on 74 minutes with an Appleby try converted by Berti to extend the lead to 28-12. Stoke completed the scoring on 83 minutes with a Humberstone penalty to help with the points difference. On the positive for Stoke Stirling worked well in the line out and Maxwell is improving with every game. The back row worked well as a unit and the backs ran the ball well when released early. The basic errors was a cause of concern especially on the overlap pass when two tries went begging due to forward passes.

Dixon added "That was the two points we wanted and we knew they would throw everything at us as they always do. We played good rugby at times and defended well when asked to. It was pleasing to see some of our training drills work in match situations. The next two weeks are vital for us as a team."

Team

Humberstone, Buckland, Feausi, Chimbima, Rogers, Berti (Lucas), Lilleywhite, Perkins (Rushworth), Maxwell, Bussati, Wilson, Stirling, Appleby (Northcote), Rees, Dixon(Capt)

link to RFU site