Stroud Rugby
Matches
Sat 05 Oct 2019  ·  Gloucester & District 1
Cheltenham 2
19
27
Stroud Rugby
Stroud Rugby
Defensive Effort Secures Victory

Defensive Effort Secures Victory

joshua stratton6 Oct 2019 - 19:20
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Nomads finally got to run out at Fromehall after a number of games on the road. Another week meant another much changed squad due to injuries and unavailability. Jamie Leworthy did an excellent job in recruiting four new players to fill the bench and of

15.
Stroud: 1 Lee Marshall 2 Grant Nash 3 Damien Cox 4 Fred Mclellan 5 Mark Samak 6 James Nash 7 Tom Flanagan 8 Sam Viggers 9 Callum Gibbs 10 Jamie Leworthy 11 Tom Munson 12 Carl Ranscombe 13 Tom Taylor 14 Alex Nash 15 Ben Wilkes 16 Andy Hardiman 17 Jamie Davis 18 Hugo Hartles 19 Caine Hopkins.
Nomads kicked off and the early phases of play showed that Cheltenham were going to be keen to use their big forwards to carry close to the breakdown, which was to be a feature of the afternoon. Carry after carry pounded away at the Stroud defensive line but determined work led by Flanagan and Viggers, ably supported by Samak stopped any clean breaks. A transgression at the breakdown awarded Cheltenham the chance to kick into the 22. Clean possession at the lineout again released their powerful carriers but again Flanagan showed excellent technique and chopped down a player far larger than himself. Continuing to be starved of possession, Stroud continued to defend with Leworthy, Ranscombe and Taylor all solid in the midfield and Munson showing bravery when the ball went wider. Eventually, 10 minutes of defence took its toll, with the Cheltenham scrum-half finding a gap, after looping around a forward carrier, to evade a number of Stroud tacklers to score under the posts. Try Converted. 0-7.
Cheltenham continued to dominate possession with their power in the forwards gaining the ascendancy - Viggers was called upon numerous times to secure any type of ball at the back of a retreating scrum. Stroud eventually gained some possession and made the most of it after a solid tackle by Leworthy and scavenging work from Viggers and Samak. Gibbs spread the ball to Ranscombe, who jinked by two tacklers before releasing Taylor to run in from 30m.
This seemed to give Nomads great confidence and despite not securing the kick off they were soon back in possession after a Flanagan tackle forced the ball to be spilled and allow Grant Nash to secure. Pick and goes from Marshall and Samak added momentum before Leworthy found Ranscombe on a short line. This time power as well as elusiveness took him past 3 tacklers before an excellent offload found the supporting Leworthy to run in and give Stroud the lead. 10-7.
Nomads continued to attack and were making great gains out wide with Ranscombe and Taylor making significant ground. Wilkes was also getting into the act and made a great outside break from Ranscombe’s pass. Unfortunately, the inside pass to the supporting Taylor did not go to hand but Taylor was able to fly-hack it on. Outpacing the Cheltenham cover he seemed destined to score, only to be denied by the final bounce of the ball, which skewed into Cheltenham hands and allowed them to clear. Wilkes returned the play with another powerful surge before play was taken on by James Nash and Flanagan. When the ball went wider Ranscombe appeared to be in only to be stopped by a fine tackle from the Cheltenham Full Back. With the lineout not functioning accurately, Nomads took a tap penalty and a Marshall carry, driven on by McClellan took play within 5m. Gibbs fed Samak on the crash ball and Nomads piled in behind him. Driving towards the line, it looked like a score but Cheltenham did well to hold the ball up on the line.
Hardiman replaced Samak in the Second Row. Cheltenham were able to clear their lines but Nomads were soon back on the attack with Flanagan securing loose ball. Gibbs found Viggers, who spotted an overlap on the outside. Safe handling by Ranscombe and Taylor awarded Wilkes space on the outside and he showed his pace to run in and around by the posts. Taylor Converted. 17-7.
With Nomads tails up they ran the kick-off back with Viggers carrying powerfully before Gibbs and Ranscombe released Nash on the right wing. After making good yardage he was tackled into touch with a tackle that at first glance appeared borderline in terms of height. The referee however adjudged this was serious enough to warrant a red card. This certainly appeared a harsh decision and unfortunately meant that Cheltenham would have to try and work their way back into the game with only 14 players.
Half Time​ Stroud Nomads 17​Cheltenham 2nd XV 7
Nomads took the opportunity to make a number of replacements at Half Time with Hartles and Hopkins replacing Munson and Nash on the wings with Davis replacing Nash on the flank.
Cheltenham enjoyed possession at the beginning of the half but again the Nomads defence was always up to the task and lead as ever by the example of Flanagan and Ranscombe put in tackle after tackle to thwart any great gains. Although set-piece ball was often struggle a solid take from Marshall from Nash’s throw allowed the backs to be released again and Ranscombe, Taylor and Wilkes interchanged passes up the left to take play into the opposition 22. As the ball was secured, Gibbs went blind to find Viggers and then McClellan, who looked as though he was going to cross before being dragged down only a metre short. Although Cheltenham cleared, Nomads were soon back in possession and a gap in the Cheltenham defence was exploited by Ranscombe, who beat his man before feeding Hopkins. Showing great awareness, Hopkins took play on before finding Ranscombe looping around the outside. A fingertip take from Ranscombe allowed him to surge over out wide. 22-7.
Samak returned to the field to replace McClellan.
With half an hour still to play and despite being a man and 15 points down, Cheltenham were far from finished and were soon once again using their big forwards to carry strongly at the heart of the Nomads defence. Punishing burst after punishing burst eventually forced Nomads to concede a penalty, which Cheltenham kicked to the corner. Although Nomads did well to repel the initial drive and hold Cheltenham up over the line, the power of their scrum allowed the Number 8 to pick and combine with the scrum half to scramble over the line. Try Converted. 22-14.
Nomads continued to show doggedness in defence but also ambition in attack. Despite the Cheltenham pack continuing to hold ascendancy in the scrum, Viggers was doing exceptionally well to secure ball at the base. Picking and feeding Gibbs, the ball was spread wider with Taylor releasing Wilkes. A powerful run and a great interchange of passes eventually found Hopkins to cross over in the corner. 27-14.
Cheltenham continued to press and soon scored again with a tap penalty taking play with 5m before a massive carry from their prop broke the Nomads defensive line. 27-19.
With 10 minutes to go, Cheltenham certainly had the momentum and continued to hammer at the Nomads line. Close in, brave work from Viggers, Samak, Gibbs and of course the ever present Flanagan, stopped any breakthrough and when the ball went wider, Ranscombe and Taylor remained resolute. With Gibbs forced from the field with a head injury, Viggers moved to scrum half and McCllelan returned to the field. In a frantic last 5 minutes, Nomads conceded a number of penalties, the last of which resulted in a yellow card for Flanagan (which was an unfortunate end to a great game for the Flanker). Nomads determination never wavered and a huge defensive effort, including tremendous work from Hardiman and Davis kept the line intact before one final hit from Taylor forced a knock on, which Wilkes was able to clear to touch, to end the game.
Full Time​Stroud Nomads 27​Cheltenham 2nd XV 19
Inventive play from the backline coupled with a fantastic effort in defence from all involved ensured Nomads held on for a well-deserved victory. This was a really positive result for the Nomads and proved that with a full squad they can indeed be competitive in the District League. Many thanks to the lads, who turned out for the first time and bolstered the squad, allowing Nomads the luxury of making interchanges at the appropriate times. With a number of players hopefully returning from injury in the next two weeks, the future could be bright for the Nomads if the massive commitment of this performance continues.
Next Fixture: Saturday 19th October v Ledbury (Home) KO 1500

Match details

Match date

Sat 05 Oct 2019

Kickoff

15:00

Competition

Gloucester & District 1

League position

3
Cheltenham 2
5
Stroud 2
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Main Club Sponsor - Stroud Brewery
Club Sponsor - Nortim Engineering Ltd
Sponsor - Cotswold Appliances (Oxford) Ltd
Club sponsors  - Howard Tenens Logistics Ltd
Clubs sports therapy - The Prime Practice
Club Sponsor - EPS
Club Sponsor - The Weighbridge Inn