Brave 12 Play with Plenty of Pride.

Nomads travelled to Cheltenham looking to carry on momentum from a positive performance against Newent. Hampered by some late unavailability and a call up to the 1st XV, Nomads were only able to field 12 players on a cold, damp afternoon. Cheltenham themselves could only field 14 players but always had a one man advantage, based on league rules.
Nomads Squad: Chris Jones, James Nash, Damien Cox, Adam Clark, Nick Stringer, Mark Samak, Callum Gibbs, Jamie Leworthy, Tom Taylor, Tom Flanagan, Tom Munson, Ben Dodd.
Leworthy kicked off but despite some early Cheltenham possession Nomads tackling was secure, preventing Cheltenham making any significant inroads into Stroud territory. Strong work from Jones and Clark forced the ball to be spilled and allowed Samak to scavenge the loose ball. Gibbs fed Leworthy, who was able to put Taylor into space. Making good ground Taylor surged into the 22 before Gibbs fed Dodd up the blindside to make further gain. The ball was recycled well for Gibbs to spread play back to Leworthy who found Flanagan cutting a great line to slice through the defence to score under the posts. With players returning to the halfway line, only Samak was left to take the kick and a worse than shocking effort was hooked wide of the posts! 0-5.
Cheltenham began to make use of their sizable forwards, making ground with pick and drive and also working in the wider channels. Typically tenacious work from Flanagan stopped attacks when they went wide and he was ably assisted by Munson, who regularly put his body on the line stopping opponents much larger than himself. Eventually a Flanagan tackle and Samak steal turned the ball over and forced a penalty. Gibbs kicked to the corner and was soon showing another attribute to his game by taking the line-out throw. He efficiently found Stringer, which set the platform for a forward drive that marched Cheltenham back towards their own line. A score looked inevitable but unfortunately the ball was dislodged just as Nash was about to crash over.
Nomads continued to press and strong carries from Clark and Samak pushed Nomads back deep into the Cheltenham half. Gibbs cleverly switched the attack and found Jones, who chipped ahead and chased down his own kick. The ball appeared to be there to be grounded but a final bounce took it away from Stroud hands and allowed Cheltenham to clear.
Cheltenham gained momentum from these two narrow escapes and used their forwards to drive up field. Continuous drives forced Nomads to encroach at the breakdown and concede a penalty. Finding touch 15m out, Cheltenham had a good base and set a driving maul. Strong work from Jones and Cox stopped the initial surge but as the ball came out to the fly-half, Nomads were on the back foot and consequently he was able to barge over by the posts. Incredibly, another close range conversion was missed. 5-5.
Keen to avoid a forward battle against a bigger pack Nomads looked to spread the ball wider and Flanagan, Munson and Dodd all made ground in the wide channels but the final pass could not be completed. Cheltenham managed to snap up a loose ball and with the Nomads defence out of position; their scrum-half weaved through a number of tackles before being hauled down. The line had been breached though and Cheltenham made the most of the man advantage to spread the ball wide to score in the corner. 10-5.
Half Time​Cheltenham 2nd XV ​10​​Stroud 2nd XV​5
Nomads started the second half on the front foot with Jones and Samak carrying well and Leworthy, Taylor and Flanagan all testing the Cheltenham defence out wider. Cox and Nash combined in a pick and drive and forced a penalty, which Gibbs kicked into the Cheltenham half. Another secure take, this time from Clark, set up a driving maul, which travelled 20m before appearing to be pulled down. Strangely, the put in was awarded to Cheltenham, who cleared but straight to Dodd. He immediately opened up play and found Flanagan who outpaced his opposite number before being stopped by the scrambling defence. With Nomads setting the pace, Cheltenham infringed allowing Gibbs to kick into the 22. Another Clark take from a Gibbs throw gained possession but this time the ball was released and spread wider. Leworthy found Flanagan on another powerful line. Good clear-out work from Stringer and Nash put the ball on a plate for Gibbs to find Samak coming around the corner. A well-timed pass found Taylor cutting a line from out to in and he surged over. Beating a hasty retreat, Samak returned to halfway and left the kicking duties to Taylor (who unlike the skipper slotted the extras without any issues!). 10-12.
Cheltenham were far from down and out and began to look to spread the play wider themselves. Making use of their one replacement, they were able to move the tiring Nomads team around and eventually found gaps despite more brave work from Flanagan and Munson. Their scrum half was able to spot a gap and throw a dummy to weave through and under the posts. Try Converted. 17-12.
From the kick off, a number of missed tackles allowed Cheltenham some easy territory, which they exploited when their backs showed efficient handling to release their powerful centre to outstrip the covering defence. 22-12.
With 15 minutes to go, it would have been easy for the Nomads to crumble but to their credit they dug deep and taking inspiration from Flanagan single-handedly stopping a 4 on 1 overlap and forcing a turnover, Nomads found renewed momentum. Gibbs was still finding Stringer in the line-out but was now running round to take off the top ball. This allowed Leworthy to carry strongly and set up a number of phases with Nomads working round the corner. Clark and Jones made inroads before a clever kick from Gibbs forced Cheltenham back. They were able to clear but Dodd and Flanagan were taking the play straight back to them.
From one strong Taylor carry, Gibbs fed Leworthy on the narrow side, who released Dodd. Seeming to be away, he was only felled by a last ditch tackle and looked to pop the ball up to his support however a Cheltenham hand got in the way an knocked the ball back Cheltenham’s side. Cheltenham looked to run the ball out but more great work from Flanagan and Taylor forced a turnover. Nomads picked and drove through Cox and Clark before Gibbs fed Leworthy. Crashing the ball up, a quick recycle allowed Samak to pick up and drive before feeding Dodd. Committing a tackler, he was able to offload to Jones, who crashed through two tacklers to score in the corner. Taylor continued to show his captain how to kick and bisected the posts with a touchline conversion. 22-19.
Unfortunately for the Nomads, the referee’s whistle went for the end of the match, depriving Nomads of one last opportunity.
Full Time​Cheltenham 2nd XV ​22​​Stroud 2nd XV​19
Nomads should be dually proud of the doggedness shown in defence as well as their ambition in attack. Despite the lack of players, this was a thoroughly entertaining game played in a great spirit and showed that the Nomads are still positive in their thinking and full of team spirit.
Next Fixture: Saturday 26th January (Home) v Old Cryptians 2nd XV
at Archway School. KO 1415.