Old Pats Battered and Blown Away by Typhoon Stroud

Special thanks to Mark for stepping into the fray and doing this weeks match report. Good job sir……..

Guest Reporter, who lacks the humour of our usual chap but is however able to spin out a lengthy story!

Stroud made the trip to Cheltenham to face an Old Pats side that had provided stiff opposition over the previous few seasons. A dank and dreary morning greeted the travelling masses as they arrived at Bourneside School however the incessant deluge of the previous night had at least abated.

Stroud were missing a number of players due to injury and illness but were still able to roll up with a sizeable squad – both in terms of numbers and physicality.
Stroud: 1 Liam 2 Orgy 3 Carlo 4 Laurie 5 Jed 6 Stoner 7 Jake 8 MrT 9 Lofty 10 Will 11 Mac 12 Dave 13 Keyan 14 Archie 15 Arthur Reps: Darion, Callum, Perys, Euan, Ryan, James, Billy.

Pats kicked off and had the benefit of the slope with them in the first half. A secure take by Stoner awarded Stroud some early pressure but a combination of a quick defensive press and a greasy ball prevented Stroud from making too much ground. Jake and Dave were stopped well in their tracks whilst Lofty was caught at the bottom of a ruck having recued loose ball from a forward carry. Liam, Jed and MrT regained control with a series of pick and drives before Lofty spotted a gap on the narrow side. Accelerating through it, he chipped ahead for Mac to chase. Mac of course, relishes a kick chase and set off up the pitch like a Jack Russell after his favourite toy. Hacking it on he was soon 40m up field on the opposite wing to where he’d started but still in hot pursuit. Despite regaining possession an untimely knock on allowed Pats to clear to touch. An accurate throw from Orgy found Laurie, who showed adept handling in the conditions to lay the ball off to Lofty. Will released Jake on the crash ball but again the first up Pats tackling was superb. Stroud however were showing patience and managed to recycle the ball and continue the momentum with Dave carrying straight from Will’s off load. Solid clear-out work from Orgy and Jed allowed Lofty and Will to release Mac on the left wing. Stepping and slipping towards the line he was brought down by the scrambling defence. Pick and goes returned as the modus operandi and Carlo, Stoner and Mr T took play on to within 1m when the referee blew for Pats encroaching offside. A quick tap from Lofty found Dave, who powered towards the whitewash but was bravely held up by the Pats defence. From the ensuing scrum, Will showed excellent vision and a show and go, with the Pats defence drawn towards Dave, saw him use pace and strength to cross over by the posts. Will converted. 0-7.

Another excellent take from Stoner in the deep again set the platform for a series of forward assaults with first Jake and then Liam making the hard yards. Play was spread wider by Lofty and good hands from Will and Dave released Keyan to carry well up towards half way. The continuity was good with good recycling allowing Lofty to find Jake again but this time an ambitious offload didn’t quite go to hand and offered Pats their first real possession. From the scrum though their Fly Half opted for territory and kicked long, which seeded to be a consistent tactic throughout the first half. Arthur (playing out of position at Full Back) and Mac however were covering these kicks confidently and always looked to get Stroud back on the front foot with positive carries. From one return however Stroud were penalised at the breakdown allowing Pats in kick into the 22 for the first time. A secure catch at the line out allowed the ball to be fed to their fly half, who put in a perfectly weighted cross kick for their left winger to collect and cross in the corner. 5-7.

The game was very truly on and for the first time in a number of weeks Stroud knew that the result of the game would depend upon them upping their game to the next level. Great competition at the kick-off from Jed and Laurie forced a knock on that Carlo capitalised on. Surging on towards the 22, he put Pats on the back foot to such an extent they were forced into conceding a penalty that Will kicked deep into the 22. More accurate work from The Orgy-Laurie axis set up a textbook catch and drive that marched its way towards and over the line. Orgy emerged with the ball and a huge grin – it was his try but courtesy of a huge collective effort from the forwards. Will converted from out wide. 5-14.

Jed was on kick-off collection duty this time and an acrobatic take secured the ball. Lofty this time varied play with his cultured left boot finding touch back inside the Pats half. Laurie caused huge disruption at the Pats lineout and allowed MrT to scavenge the loose ball. Lofty was showing his diverse skill set with a great carry from the base however the move broke down with a knock on in contact. Pats kicked again and again Arthur was more than up to the task and returned the ball with interest. Lofty again looked for his forward carriers and found Jake and the MrT to carry strongly. Going up the blindside, Lofty fed Will, whose clever chip ahead forced Pats back. Although they were able to drop on the ball, they were literally carried out of play by good follow up work from Dave. Replacements entered the fray with Darion replacing Jed, Perys on for Liam with Stoner moving up to the front row and Euan coming on for MrT.

The line functioned effectively again and distribution from Lofty and Will released Keyan into a bit of space to make considerable ground up the right ably supported by Archie. Lofty brought play back to the left with Carlo and then Jake carrying deep into the Pats 22. Quick ball released the backs and Keyan showed strength to carry and redistribute to Dave, who crashed over on the loop round. Another metronomic kick from Will extended the lead. 5-21.

Half Time Old Pats 5 Stroud 21

“Half a job done,” was the focus of the half time talk and a realisation that more hard work would be needed to complete the job. The other replacements entered proceedings with Callum replacing Orgy and Jake moving to hooker, Billy made a welcome comeback after 4 weeks out replacing Mac, whilst Ryan replaced Arthur and James replaced Archie on the wing.

Will kicked off and a good take from Pats secured ball. Forward carries were dealt with well with Perys and Euan chopping low and Stoner of course getting through more than his share of tackling. When Pats went wide good covering work from Will, Dave and Keyan forced a knock on that was gleefully collected by Keyan, who galloped 30m to score by the posts. Will Converted. 5-28.

Stroud continued to press with the next try being a fine example of forwards and backs combining well. Straight from the kick off, Laurie collected and carried well before Lofty found Jake. Taking the ball up he distributed out the back to Will to spread play wider to Ryan, who with a perfectly timed pass released Dave on the left. Accelerating through a gap he made, 40m before finding Billy on the inside. As well balanced as ever, swerved and accelerated towards the try line only to be stopped by a great last ditch tackle. Great clearing out from Perys and Callum allowed Lofty to switch play back to the blind and find Dave to dive over in the corner. 5-33.

Pats to their credit never lay down and their forwards in particular always looked to carry but were met by a solid blue and white wall. Carlo and Stoner wrapped up anything that came their way whilst Euan had taken note of Mac’s Jack Russell tactics and chased and chased – at one point making 3 tackles in 30 seconds.

Appearing now to have the monopoly on possession, Stroud stuck to their game plan of strong forward carries before releasing the ball at the most appropriate time. Another left field break from Dave, this time did not result in a score but set up a great platform for first Darion then Carlo to take play on. Moving play to the right, Lofty and Will combined to release James, who ran strongly and appeared to have crossed the line for a score only for the ball to be adjudged to have gone forward.

From the 22, Pats cleared deep but found Billy more than keen for another run. An arcing run from left to right took play 50m up field. Keyan continued the momentum with a powerful carry before Stroud structure retuned with Jake and then Stoner carrying. Moving the ball back to the right, Lofty found Will, whose well timed pass gave Dave just enough time to use his trademark fend and power through a gap to score. Will Converted. 5-40.

Lofty was replaced by Archie with Arthur returning to the fray in place of Dave. Will continued to orchestrate play with a variety of passes. Some finding Keyan and Ryan in the wider channels and others hit Arthur, who was straight back into the action, on the crash ball. One such carry from Arthur took play into the 22 and forced Pats to transgress at the breakdown. Will found touch before Jake (now throwing) found Laurie. Another cohesive catch and drive took play to within 5m before Jake broke off to score. Will again converted 5-47.

Mac returned in place of Keyan, whilst MrT and Jed replaced Euan and Laurie respectively. These changes did not affect how Stroud approached the game and their structured work again bore fruit soon after. Jake and MrT again carried strongly before Will and Ryan released Mac for a run in the centres. Forward pick and drives took over with Darion and Stoner taking play on deep within the 22. Archie was unlucky to be held up over the line when sniping from the base but from the resultant scrum the ball was carried well by Arthur before Will found Billy with a well-judged long pass to allow the winger to cruise around the outside to score. 5-52.

Full Time Old Pats 5 Stroud 52

This was an excellent all round performance by all involved against a well disciplined and committed Old Pats side. The structure Stroud played with was the most impressive so far this season with both forwards and backs showing the necessary patience and technique to control the ball through multiple phases.

Next Fixture: (Away) v Dings Crusaders Sunday 20 October 1100

Apologies again for the complete lack of humour and turn of phrase that our usual reporter is known for – we will look forward to his next offering with baited breath!

Editor note: Mark you did a great job. You can keep the pen and paper for next week ;-)