1st XV 29 - 10 Blackheath

A brace of tries from new skipper Ben Hughes powered Stourbridge to an opening day win against Blackheath in front of an appreciative Stourton Park crowd..

Stour “went nap” in the expanded, re-branded National 1 as five sparkling league debuts brought five tries and five points.

Neil Mitchell’s reshaped team, who after half-time dominated the visitors in every area other than the scrummage, were not flattered by a 29-10 final scoreline.

Whilst the prospect of going wallet to wallet with Sedgley Park, Cambridge, Launceston and Esher over the next month is a tough one, the challenge can now be approached with a modicum of confidence.

The captain led from the front on five minutes, and gave the crowd an early chance to celebrate the return of the driving maul.  After opting to kick to the corner rather than at goal, Hughes’ pack drove him over the Blackheath line from the resulting line out, for an unconverted score.

The visitors’ early approach combined an uncompromising front row with plenty of ambition.  England Sevens specialist Mike Friday’s coaching clearly encourages the ball to be spread wide at every opportunity, but despite this, his backs only really threatened when offered broken field opportunities by mis-placed home kicks.

Blackheath’s best period, in the second quarter, produced all their ten points.  The first penalty conceded by the home side generated three of these, full back Tom White finding the mark from 25 metres after Stourbridge went to ground on the wrong side.

This was quickly followed by an excellent set-piece backs move that freed White deep in home territory.  A tremendous last-ditch tackle from Adam Billig prevented a score, but only temporarily, as former Southend winger Tyson Lewis took a popped pass to cruise over for a converted try.

The home response was immediate, as a line out win against the throw and some good handling gave debutant Ali Hunter-Blair space on the left. The former Ross winger chipped his opposite number, before winning the race to the loose ball to level the scores.

The match’s pivotal moment came on the stroke of half time. Stourbridge faced a series of defensive scrums on their own five metre line, and eventually the pressure told.  But as the powerful Blackheath pack surged over the line, number 8 Gareth Jones’ knock on provided a reprieve.

Hughes provided another early score two minutes after the break, when he rounded off a dazzling handling move close to the posts, for Tom Richardson to convert. The ball went through several pairs of hands, but it was a brilliant reverse pass from another Stour debutant, Wales Sevens star Craig Richards, that caught the eye.

Referee Steve Lee, whose generally quiet afternoon reflected a well-managed match, was brought into the action when a scrummage erupted into fisticuffs. 

On the hour mark, another Stourbridge first-timer and former Stourbridge Lions player, right wing Duncan Chance, gave Mitchell’s men some breathing space and the try bonus point. He charged down a chip on half way and hacked the ball on, before comfortably outpacing the cover to the touch-down.

After Richardson had added the extras, the afternoon became increasingly open and error-strewn as Blackheath chased the game in the final quarter.

It was no surprise when Stour produced another try late on, local boy Wayne Cooper, on as a replacement back row, supporting a fine break by scrum half Tom Richardson to force his way over in the corner on his Stourbridge debut.

Unsurprisingly, Mitchell pronounced himself a happy man after the game.  He recognised the crucial contributions of not only his pacy back line, but also a fifth newcomer, former B&S prop Andi Lawrence, who along with Ben Gerry and Adam Sturdy provided the scrummage platform on which the victory was built.

The Match in Pictures