1st XV 29 - 37 Launceston

Stourbridge came away with a four try bonus point but it could have been a lot more had they not insisted upon kicking away valuable possession. It took the home side just 45 seconds to make their mark when, straight from the kick off, Mark Dibble scored out on the right hand side and fly half Adam Staniforth converted, An exchange of clearance kicks led to territorial advantage to Launceston and after an early injury to Chris Rowland Launceston went further ahead. A second try for Dibble after 13 minutes meant they were 12-0 up.

Fortunately, the home side failed to capitalise on possession, a penalty and missed moves. However, six minutes late, full back Mal Roberts clearance kick found Jon Higgins who off loaded to Adam Sturdy. The ball was fed to Barkley and then Jon Hall who did exceptionally well to beat two defenders and score out left. Barkley continued to punch holes in the Launceston defence and some sustained pressure was rewarded by a penalty which Bressington slotted over on 28 minutes.

This was cancelled on the 40 minute mark when, following a lineout, Stour were penalised for an infringement and the reliable boot of Staniforth gave them a 15-8 lead. Three minutes into injury time it was Launceston’s turn to give away possession to Hall. He did well to retain the ball and a resultant line out, quick throw and scrum led to a 40 metre break by Tom Richardson, giving him a hard earned five points. Bressington’s conversion ensured that honours were even at 15 all on the stroke of half time.

This left the sun baked crowd with plenty to talk about during the interval and a chance for the announcer to remind former club secretary Bob Browne that it was his 40^th wedding anniversary. The second half started in the same vein as the first, with Launceston scoring first, after some untidy Stour play. They pounced on a loose ball, kicked through and veteran full back Mal Roberts broke clear and scored out right. 6 minutes later saw Stour’s persistence payoff. They found themselves scrummaging 25 metres from the try line and Tom Richardson fed Higgins. With some deft hands and good lines of running he popped the ball to Adam Billig. A shimmy and a sidestep gave him a gap and 20 metres in which to work his magic and gain another 5 points which Bressington converted to give Stour a lead for the first time in the game.

This only lasted three minutes when the home side scored through Steve Perry. Staniforth converted. Three minutes later Stour took a long drop out from the 22 only to have it counter attacked. A strong run by hooker Darren Semmens saw him make at least 30 metres and a worthy try that was converted by Staniforth. The score was now 37-22 and Launceston had done enough to earn five points. However, Stour started to put some cohesive moves together and were unfortunate not to score on two occasions. They finally got their reward when Jon Hall was fed the ball from a set piece. The elusive wing wriggled through two tackles and bagged his second try of the game, just inside the left corner flag. The left footed Bressington, from his “wrong side” stroked a magnificent kick, dead centre through the uprights with two minutes of injury time to play. Stour had neither time nor opportunity to score again as Launceston played a tight forwards game and the clock ticked to an inevitable conclusion.