Club Tie, Pasty and Chips Reward for Home Victory

Stroud’s first home game of the season and the promise of post match pasty and chips ensured a strong turn out with plenty of subs for Mark and Phil to choose from.

It was an early 10am kick off on the main pitch – made a bit narrower/shorter – but the weather was going to be kind unlike at Minch. Stroud kicked off and Tetbury made a few probing runs back. An alert Will spotted an opportunity an intercepted a pass though but Stroud couldn’t capitalise though. Penalties were traded without any team taking advantage. Stroud forced a knockon and Dave dived on the loose ball to secure possession and Hilly quickly got the ball out to Jedd who went on a strong run to the left. As he drew in the defenders he did a perfect pass to Will who carried on the move and scored in the left corner for a 5-0 lead.

Stroud kicked off and more strong tackling forced a turnover that Arthur snaffled. Finn attacked to the right and Stoner then took it on in the middle and showed that he would be more than able to take on the Keyan #8 role and dish out the punishing runs. Tetbury showed their tackling prowess though and slowed down the Stroud attack and then made their own turnover. One of their big forwards went on a good run but Liam forced a turnover and Will saw the opportunity and kicked long. The ball bounced loose and Arthur picked it up and scored in the centre for a 10-0 lead.

Stroud kicked off again but the ball went straight out so Tetbury took a scrum that they won, but Dave was quick into the tackle and another turnover. Hilly passed to Alex who cut up inside and as the defense closed he passed outside to an accelerating Will who was perfectly placed on the outside shoulder. Will straightened his run and as the defense closed he fed Flash who finished off a lovely move with a great finish in the left corner. 15-0 to Stroud.

Tetbury kicked off and put pressure on Stroud and forced a mistake. Tetbury were pressurising the Stroud 22 but more stout defense from Dave produced another turnover and Lucas was quick enough to pick up the ball and attack left. Mr T took on the ball and pushed Tetbury back. Then Flash made some good yards but a great Tetbury tackled stopped a certain try. Good support play though from Mr T and Liam won the breakdown. Hilly timed a perfect pass to Dave who ran right, hesitated, and then saw the gap, did a dummy pass and then scored in the right corner for 20-0 lead.

Stroud were playing well and carrying on from their first half at Minch. Tetbury kicked off and Flash caught cleanly and ran it back. Eddie fresh from his sailing exploits took on the attack and steered a course through the parting Tetbury waves. Tetbury were penalised and Stroud attempted their penalty move that Friday night had taught them. Stoner took the ball at pace but a brave Tetbury defender managed to stop him. A few phases of play ended with a Tetbury penalty but Mr T put in a powerful tackle. Tetbury sniped down the side but Hilly saw the danger and put in his own great tackle. Stroud forced a turnover but then knocked on. Tetbury had a scrum close to Stroud line that they duly won. Alex stopped them on the line and as the ball came loose Dave kicked long to relieve the pressure. The Tetbury full back was well positioned though and showed great skill and pace to run it back close to Stroud line. Play broke down and Hilly was subbed off injured with Flash moving in to scrum half position for rest of match.

In the next passage of play another good tackle from Arthur forced a turnover and Joe ran up the left wing until he was forced out of play. Tetbury attacked well from line-in pass but another error got Stroud the ball and Stoner and Joe took it in turns to attack. Tetbury forced a knock on though and won the resulting scrum on half way. They got the ball to one of their bigger players and he barrelled through some poor tackles and scored in the left corner closing the score to 20-5.

Stroud kicked off and Tetbury dropped the ball that an alert Will recovered and improvised with a gruber kick but Tetbury did well to recover it, only to be rewarded with Will following up with a turnover tackle! Stoner was the benefactor and ran left. Joe attacked from the wing and got close to the line and was held up but good forward support from Orgy and Laurie kept forward momentum. The ball came out to the right and Will threw a long pass to Finn on right wing who scored to make it 25-5.

Tetbury kicked off and Orgy ran it back well. The teams traded attacks and turnovers. Tetbury were increasing their pressure, partly due to some missed Stroud tackles. Will’s kicking game was the big difference though and he even managed to time a kick so it was partially blocked but when it bounced out this gave Stroud an attacking line-in pass! Dave took on the pass and it came out to Jack who ran strongly right. He did well to pass onto Edgar who kept the move going until he was bundled into touch. Play settled down with alternating attacking phases snuffed out by mistakes and good tackling. The last phase ended up with Stoner running left and showing his new hand-off skills to keep the tacklers at bay. Eventually he was brought to ground but he had out-run his support and Tetbury won the ruck and attacked themselves. Eventually Stroud got the ball and Mr T went on a good run and when he was closed down he passed to Will who run right and as he was brought down he showed deft skill to pass ball out of back of hand to Dave who carried on the flowing move and scored in right corner for a 30-5 lead as the half time whistle went.

Half Time: Stroud 30-5 Tetbury

Subs were taken and more fresh legs started the 2nd half. Could Stroud push on or would they repeat the Minch performance and lose focus in the 2nd half?

Mr T caught the Tetbury kick off and passed to Jack who did a good attacking run. He was closed down and Stroud attacked left with Riley and Callum but Tetbury showed good defense to slow down the move. Tetbury were awarded a scrum that they duly won and attacked to the left. A great move by their curly haired centre scythed through the Stroud defense and then a perfect pass inside gave Tetbury a well deserved try to close to 30-10. Then we realised it was Finn playing for them that was the difference maker so we weren’t sure whether to applaud or boo !

Stroud kicked off and Arthur chased the kick and forced a mistake. New player Jamie in the forwards showed his skills with a good pick and run. Good supporting play from Harry and Eddie kept the move alive but Tetbury showed great resolve to turn the ball over and again Finn (Tetbury version) was the benefactor and attacked the Stroud backs and outran them all and was then generous enough to pass to another Tetbury player who scored under the posts for 30-15 Stroud lead.

Callum came off injured and Stroud kicked off. Tetbury only had 1 plan and that was to get the ball to Finn and he went on another mazy run that Arthur was strong enough to chase down and tackle Finn on the Stroud 22. Jack won the turnover ball and ran right. Harry had a good run and Edgar did well to keep the ball alive. Tetbury forced a turnover though and ran right and were close to scoring but Riley showed great skill to close down the attacker and force a pass to the winger that Tetbury knocked on. Stroud won the scrum and Will and then Jack ran right to provide some breathing space. Eddie again made more hard yards. Joe provided good support and cut back inside Jonny May style to run across the width of the pitch. Good forward support from both Jamie and Liam kept the attack going and pressured the Tetbury line. Somehow Tetbury forced a turnover and they gambled with their own attacking move but Will saw his chance and intercepted it and scored in left corner to calm the nerves with a 35-15 lead. At this point we took Finn off to slow down the Tetbury recovery, but Joe took on the Tetbury jersey and would provide an equally threating proposition.

Tetbury kicked short so Stroud took the half way scrum that the powerful forwards won easily. The ball went right with Will then Dave. Alex cut back on the inside and Dave’s inside ball split the Tetbury defense. As the Tetbury full back closed on Alex he passed back to Dave who then saw a gap and kicked for the corner. Stroud forced a turnover close to Tetbury line and attacked left but knocked on and Tetbury won the resulting scrum. Their backs attacked strongly but Flash was all over them and strong tackling forced a turnover. Jamie again was there to benefit with a good run. Liam was feeding off this well and Stroud closed upto the line. Riley had a good attack but was held up. The ball was won well by Lucas and Laurie and this gave Flash a chance to pass right. Ball went low but Alex picked it up well and quickly passed onto Finn (Stroud version) and he scored in the corner to show Tetbury what they were missing.

Tetbury kicked off and Finn ran it back to the right. Flash took on the attack and threatened the Tetbury corner but a clever backwards pass went begging but Dave adapted well and picked up the loose ball and scored for a 45-15 scoreline. Tetbury kicked off and Liam ran it back well and then passed to Stoner who steam rolled through the Tetbury line and outrun the pursuers and ref Jo to score in the left hand corner. Stroud lead 50-15.

Now the game was breaking down as the kids tired on the big pitch. Stroud kicked off and Tetbury ran it back through some poor Stroud tackles. Finn did an excellent cover tackle to stop the threat but good Tetbury support picked up the loose ball and they scored an easy try. Stroud kicked off again with Dave taking over from Will at fly half. Tetbury lost possession and Laurie and Liam made some good moves. Edgar then had his own good run, followed by Harry and Orgy. Tetbury were awarded a scrum but Stroud first of all forced a reset after it wheeled 90 degrees and then won it against the head at 2nd attempt. Orgys bendy legs to the fore again……

Stroud attacked again and Arthur made good yards. Another Stroud scrum and the ball came right and more deft hands from the backs finished with an Alex to Arthur and back to Dave combo that gave Dave a run to the left corner and a 55-20 lead.

Stroud kicked off and Tetbury ran it back well but Mr T was there to stop the threat. Stroud won the turnover and Flash did a long pass to Edgar who was isolated and quickly brought to ground. Tetbury turned the ball over and ran right but Dave put in a good tackle and ball came loose that Alex then dived on to secure possession. The forwards secured the ball well and Flash passed to Dave who kicked deep but Tetbury recovered the ball well and ran back to the left and out-paced the Stroud defence for a well earnt try and a 55-25 scoreline. Full time whistle went and players formed tunnels to applaud each other off for a game played in great spirit.

Final Score: Stroud 55-25 Tetbury

Debrief was held and the positives like good passing and attacking were rewarded and the weaknesses like some of the tackling and support play were brought into focus for improvement. Next week’s game against Tewksbury will certainly put us under a lot of pressure and penalise any errors we make.

The kids retreated to the changing rooms to change into shirt and club tie for the first time and then head upstairs for a pasty and chips meal kindly provided by the hard working kitchen staff. The kids kept up their bonding, aided by taking the mick out of each other’s tie binding skills. Best tie knot went to Flash or Dave. Worst to Orgy. There you go Orgy you get “Man of Post-game match” for your fashion statement….. slightly better than the way you wore the subs red bib on the sideline.