MATCH REPORT: MINCHINHAMPTON RFC VS STROUD RUGBY

Match Report by Mark Samak

Stroud made the short trip to Minchinhampton and were greeted with a wet and breezy afternoon and a combative Minchinhampton forward pack. Stroud were immediately under early pressure at the scrum and allowed Minchinhampton to gain early territorial advantage. They capitalised on this by kicking a straightforward penalty. 3-0.

The set piece continued to cause issues for Stroud with the scrum under pressure and the line-out being sporadic in the quality of possession it was producing. Without a solid platform, Stroud were reliant upon their handling and support play in open field, which was excellent despite the difficult conditions. Marsh and Litton distributed well and regularly found skipper Leworthy cutting excellent lines and breaking well over the advantage line. One such break enabled Davey-Jawara to carry deep into the 22. Cremmins and Phillips carried strongly however loose work at the breakdown enabled the home side to clear. Full-Back, Collins was in excellent form with his kick returns and his elusive running gained huge yardage throughout the afternoon. One return took play 50m upfield and gave Stroud real momentum. McNeil and Fruin drove on before Ashenford spread the ball wide to Marsh, who found Flanagan lurking in the centres – a step and burst of acceleration took him past his opposite number before crashing over out wide. 3-5.

Stroud continued to live off scraps of possession but the liveliness of Ashenford around the base and the willingness of Cremmins and Phillips to carry gave Stroud the opportunity to work their way back into the Minchinhampton half. A deft kick from Marsh found space and only an unfortunate bounce prevented Adamson from collecting. The winger suffered more bad luck when he was yellow-carded for what at first looked like an excellent tackle. Using the boot, Minchinhampton kicked into the Stroud half and earned a breakdown penalty, which was duly kicked. 6-5.

The second half saw a number of changes both in personnel and positionally in the forwards and the scrummage gained parity. This allowed Stroud the opportunity to begin to work through their phases – Cremmins, Voyce and Rodway led the forward carries before Ashenford and Marsh released Litton whose wide pass found Collins on the right wing to cross in the corner. 6-10.
Minchinhampton were never going to lie down and their forward pack continued to exert control in the lineout and began to take advantage of Stroud indiscipline to kick their way into Stroud territory. Excellent defence, with Flanagan notable for his tackle count, stopped any significant gains but the pressure continued to build. A strong secondary drive from a 5m scrum allowed the Number 8 to touch down and enable the home side to regain the lead. 11-10.

Stroud at times were their own worst enemies with the penalty count rising dramatically. Another well struck kick extended the Minchinhampton lead. 14-10. Stroud’s attitude however could not be questioned and despite the line-out being less than effective the ability to make something out of nothing kept Stroud. A powerful surge from Debieux allowed Ashenford rare quick ball from which Marsh freed Leworthy. A trademark fend and run up the left took play into the 22 before finding the ever-willing Ashenford to score out wide. 14-15.
Stroud were soon back on the attack again but opted for a more pragmatic approach with Wilkes kicking deep into the 22m. Pressure at the lineout from Baldwin forced an error, which was pounced upon by Cremmins and Ashenford to ground the ball. The conversion struck the upright, which in the end would prove crucial. 14-20.

Stroud claimed the restart but opted to keep running the ball close as opposed to clearing down field. This eventually cost them as the ball was turned over and a penalty conceded, which again was kicked to the corner. A highly efficient catch and drive powered over the Stroud line to give the Minchinhampton fly-half the opportunity to win the game with another well struck kick. 21-20.