Colts
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Sun 09 Dec 2018
Chippenham
41
51
Stroud Rugby
Colts
Kick Happy Stroud win a high scoring thriller

Kick Happy Stroud win a high scoring thriller

russell vale9 Dec 2018 - 20:50
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Stroud U15s beat Chippenham in battle of the Shires

Another new month – another new destination for the Stroud U15s on their long distance tour of top class opposition. This time the Satnavs were set South and Wiltshire was our destination. Chippenham were our formidable opposition – who we had never played before but from seeing their results like beating Bath would be another strong challenge to overcome.

As the players slept in the cars the parents played pub sign cricket on the way over. “The Centipede” at Grittleton looked to have won it for Coach Samak until we went through a hamlet called “Tiddlywink” (Wikipedia rhyming slang for “Quick Drink” based on serving drink to passing Cattle Drovers). As we left the 3 house hamlet we spotted the “Tiddlywinks Tavern” – which in the eyes of Russell had a montage of 64 players in the Tiddlywinks Olympics as a herd of 400 cattle wandered past. A high scoring game of pub cricket was just the prelude to a high scoring game of rugby.

We were met by our friendly hosts. Things were looking up – their coach/ref was a die hard Gloucester fan and was purring over the Exeter vs Glos result. He even wore a Cherry n Whites top. Mission 1 accomplished – get the ref on your side! Mission 2 was down to Jo – compare school stories with the ref and realise you have friends in common. So the coaches had the ref in their pocket as well! Mission 3 accomplished – another less than perfect warmup – normally means we’ll have a storming performance waiting for us!

Forwards: Lucas, Orgy, Bernie, Darion, Jedd, Stoner, Laurie, Mr T
Backs: Hilly, Will, Dave, Keyan, Archie, Flash, Alex
Subs: Euan, Callum, Fin, Ryan, Jamie

Chippenham kicked off and Stroud quickly attacked left with Flash. Slow support from the forwards gave Chippy chance to turnover the ball and attack left. They pressured the Stroud line but good defense kept them out. Chippy had an attacking scrum that again gave their powerful forwards chance to pound the line. Stroud did not back down from the challenge and threw bodies in the way – illegally - so Chippy had a penalty which they kicked to touch. They setup for a 5 yard lineout with an inventive lineup of just 2 forwards. A quick catch and dish to the 3rd forward running in at pace gave Chippy an easy try in the left corner. The kick was missed but they were leading 5-0 – just like Exeter had done against Glos. Lets hope Stroud could come back and dominate the rest of the half…..

Stroud kicked off and Chippy attacked left. Stoner put in a big tackle and knocked the ball loose. Stroud had a scrum restart that the new look front row of Bernie, Orgy and Lucas won with a great shove. Dave took on the crash ball but Chippy dealt with it well. Quick clearouts from Laurie and Darion secured clean ball and Hilly quickly got it away to Keyan. He drew the defender and put in a long pass to Archie on the right wing. From a standing start he lit the afterburners and arrived under the posts 0.6 seconds later. Boy can that lad run! Will kicked the extras and Stroud took the lead 7-5.

Chippy kicked off and Keyan took on return duties. Chippy hauled him down eventually but the damage was done – too many players in close. Will saw the space and gruber kicked to the right. Afterburner man showed his football prowess and hacked on the ball expertly. Another hack kick by Archie gave a horrible bounce and went behind him and we thought the chance was gone but Dave was quick to pounce on the loose ball and dive over the line for another try. This time the conversion was from wide right but Captain Reliable slotted it over with a great effort and Stroud stretched their lead to 14-5.

Now the game took an unusual twist. The ref had tweaked his ankle trying to keep up with the fast Stroud backs so had to sub himself off. Jo stepped up and ran the game for the remainder – even taking care to sport the exact same vintage Glos shirt so as not to confuse the players there was a new ref on the block.

Keyan caught the short kickoff well under strong pressure. Good support from the forwards gave Lucas a Rhino run to punch a hole in the defensive line. Dave then battled his way up the middle drawing in a few tacklers. This gave space for our new winger to aim left, the weave back to the right, squeeze through gaps that didn’t exist and all at full pace. As he dived over the line for another solo effort the crowd were in awe. Who was this Ollie Thorley winger kid that had just burst onto the scene and was running in tries from distance for fun? Then the dream finished and the match reporter woke up. But we had scored another winger inspired try but Afterburner Archie wore the shirt. Ollie wouldn’t get into our side at this rate…… Another great kick from Will and Stroud led Exeter 21-5…. or was it Chippenham ?

Chippy kicked long and Mr T ran it back well. Then the ball came out for Dave and Keyan to make some good yardage. More good breakdown work from Chippy secured a turnover and they kicked laterally out to their winger but Archie saw the threat and hacked it on and looked to be scoring another try but the ball came Back for a Chippy scrum on half way which they duly won. They attacked left but more good defensive pressure forced a knockon. Jedd had a strong run and good clearout by Bernie and Laurie gave plenty of space for Hilly to launch another attack. Will went right and again put in the perfectly weighted gruber kick. This time Chippy were able to handle it and take it back into the try area for a touch down. Stroud had a 5 metre scrum that they handled well and Mr T at #8 picked up and went blind and forced his way over the try line. This time the kick from wide was missed and Stroud were now leading 26-5. The crowd were quiet. Were they in awe of the team display so far? Nope. Tori was still asleep in the car and we always knew how loud she got when son Will was putting in a great shift in the forwards.

Mr T returned the kickoff well. The crowd noise was rising as he racked up the yardage. Tori had woken from her slumber and needed to add a few more Db to the volume to make up for missing the first 20 minutes….. The game alternated between both teams trading good runs, tackles and good forward play. The next scoring opportunity was with Stroud and an attack left from another powerful scrum. The backs spun the ball out with typical precision but an alert Chippy player managed to snaffle an interception and turn defense into attack. A kick over the top was recovered well by Alex before the uprushing Chippy attackers. The ball came out to Keyan who improvised with a kick that Archie recovered well. Strong tackles forced a knockon though. Chippy won their scrum and attacked right. Another kick into space was bravely recovered by Alex at the feet of the Chippy kick chase. Stroud secured the ruck well and Jedd went on a Llama run. He was left isolated and Chippy turned the ball over. They attacked quickly but the ball went to ground within their backs and this gave Dave chance to hack the ball on from halfway for 3 or 4 kicks before it bounced perfectly and he caught it in stride and scored under the posts. Wills kick was good and Stroud were winning 33-5. More importantly (for Stu Evans anyway) the Rodboro footballers had shown great egg-shaped kicking skills and would hopefully be given the 2nd half off to rest up before their big County Cup game at South Cerney 2 hours later.

Keyan did another good kickoff catch and return. Dave took on the ball and kicked right that Archie caught in stride and threatened to score. Good cover tackles kept him in check though. The ball came back left and Euan had a powerful run. The ball was switched back right and Dave found himself in space to sprint down the right flank and score in the corner. The conversion was missed but Stroud were winning all aspects of the game to lead 38-5. Dave was subbed off so Delia could put some oxygen back into those lungs.

Fin caught the long kickoff. Chippy were still competing well at the breakdown and forced another turnover. They attacked down the fringes but Jedd put in a good tackle to snuff them out. Chippy went wide left but Archie stopped them well and another knockon was the result. Stroud won the scrum and attacked left. The defense came up quickly so Will cut in behind them and made good yardage. Chippy were penalised at the breakdown so Will kicked long for touch but the breeze kept the ball in play. Chippy attacked left again and tacklers from Stoner and Euan just slowed down the inevitable. Chippy got closer and closer to the line and the pressure ratcheted up a few notches. Stroud did their best to keep them out with Orgy and Bernie tackling well. Lucas and Mr T were also throwing their bodies in the way. Eventually Chippy got their rewards and forced the ball over the line. A good conversion followed and Chippenham had finished the half on a high – could they keep it going in the 2nd half?

Half Time: Chippenham 12 – 38 Stroud

Stroud kicked off and were immediately under relentless pressure. Stoner, Euan and Flash all put in splendid tackles. Still Chippy kept coming and weaved their way down the left wing. Alex stopped a try with a typical last gasp tackle. Still Chippy kept coming with the ball switching left and right trying to find a gap in the Stroud defense. They had camped on the line for what seemed like an eternity until they eventually got the ball out far right and their winger scored in the corner. The kick was missed but Exeter, sorry Chippenham, had started the 2nd half strongly and would Gloucester, sorry Stroud, collapse?

Yup. Our worst fears were realised. Chippenham managed to run the kickoff back through various missed tackles. Alex knocked the attacker to ground but he showed great skills to offload from the ground to the well supporting runner who finished off the move under the posts. A good kick and the score was 38-24 to Stroud.

Chippy took the kickoff back left and kicked into space. Fin now at full back recovered it well. He was tackled high and Will kicked the penalty to touch. Laurie won the lineout on halfway. The ball went left and Euan made some good yardage. Will kicked for space and Chippy recovered it well. Euan was first there with a bone-jarring tackle which resulted in a knockon. Stroud won the scrum restart on halfway and Ryan set the backs off to the right. Will again cut behind the uprushing defense and gruber kicked for the line. Chippy did well to cover up the ball and touch down in the dead ball area. Stroud won their 5 metre scrum and attacked right. Will did an excellent long pass all the way to Archie who ran in another try in the corner. The conversion was missed but Stroud were leading 43-24.

Chippy again kicked long. Fin again was the safe handed return man. Again Chippy competed well at the breakdown to force another turnover. More missed tackles from the tiring Stroud players gave the Chippenham flanker a surprisingly easy run to the try line. The conversion was good and Chippenham, were within 12 at 43-31.

Another good Chippy runback was spoilt with another knockon as Keyan jarred the ball loose. Somehow it landed in Dave’s hands and he kicked over the top to the waiting Chippy full back. He was allowed to his feet and then got isolated so held on and gave Stroud a long distance penalty chance. Will showing great game awareness took on the penalty and duly slotted it down the middle and giving Stroud a 15 point cushion.

Flash ran back the kickoff well. The teams traded turnovers and tackles with Laurie and Orgy prominent in the loose. Chippenham were showing great heart and determination to keep attacking back and overcome their handling errors. They got close to the Stroud line but Stroud kept them out and had a scrum 5 restart. Under great pressure Orgy won the hook and the backs attacked left. Dave kicked to relieve the pressure but Chippy recovered it well and ran back down the right flank and scored in the corner. The difficult kick was missed and now it was a 10 point game at 46-36.

Chippy ran the kickoff back strongly. Darion showed great determination to hang on and bring down the powerful runner. Chippy were penalised at the breakdown and Will banana kicked for touch. Laurie won the lineout on halfway and the forwards pounded away with Darion, Laurie and Lucas forcing Chippy backwards. Another penalty conceded and Stroud had a lineout on their opponents 22. Laurie caught Orgy’s accurate lineout throw and the forwards put in a great drive. Ryan got the ball out to the backs and Dave saw a gap to the right and kicked for space. There was no space. Archie was already there to recover the kick and score in the corner. The kick from wide was missed but Stroud had broken the 50 point barrier at 51-36.

The last phase of the game was shared between both teams. One minute we thought Archie and Dave had combined for along run, but for it to be brought back for a forward pass. Next Chippy would pressure the Stroud line but be kept out by stout defending. As the clock ticked into the red zone Chippy were camped on the line. The forwards went left but James and Mr T kept them out. Chippy attacked back right and rana great line to break the blue line and score close to the posts. The kick was missed but it didn’t matter as the full time whistle went and Stroud had held on in the 2nd half to beat a well drilled Chippenham team.

Full Time: Chippenham 41 – 51 Stroud

Both teams applauded each other off the pitch. Stroud had dominated the first half with expert kicking and pacy runs by the Stroud backs. All made possible by great defensive organisation and good forward play. Chippenham had won the 2nd half with great determination shown to come back from a big deficit and keep Stroud in check and make us fully earn our victory. Stroud had learnt from their recent defeat to Cinderford and showed its a "copycat league" by benefitting from inventive kicking and closing out the game in the final minutes.

Well done to all the Stroud players - especially the forwards who had to put in long shifts with multiple players missing with various injuries. Next game is mid-January so plenty of time to heal up over Xmas. Just stay away from the chocolates and mince pies and stay match fit. Best of luck to the players who are doing the Gloucester Rugby DPP Festival at Hartpury next weekend. Trust your skills and play your normal game and you'll impress the coaches no end. Best of luck to the Marling boys who play Cheltenham College in 4th round of the National Cup on Wednesday. Keep that cup run going.....

Thanks to Chippenham for their hospitality and providing well-matched worthy opponents. Thanks to Jo for stepping in and refereeing the rest of the game. The return fixture is at Fromehall end of January. It should be a humdinger.

Match details

Match date

Sun 09 Dec 2018

Kickoff

11:00
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
Club Sponsor - EPS