Stourbridge 62, Stockport 7

STOUR took their recent poor form out on whipping boys Stockport, writes Nick Pullen.

Neil Mitchell's men hit the ground running and swept Stockport aside in the first half as they built a commanding 41-7 lead by the break.

Left wing Stefan Cooksammy led the first half scoring spree with a spectacular hat-trick of tries.

Cooksammy opened his account after seven minutes running in on the overlap before opposite wing Nathan Bressington quickly grabbed a second try, finishing off a fine handling move.

Stockport had no answer as Stour continued to move the ball at pace and Cooksammy claimed a third try on 18 minutes.

However, Stockport did manage to show some defiance in an otherwise one-sided first half when replacement forward Keiran Hibbs was driven over for a try by his pack following a line-out, which fly half Josh Longmore converted.

That score aside, it proved a torrid afternoon for Stockport, who were soon on the back foot again as Stour started chalking up the tries.

Hooker Dale Garner steamrollered his way over for a fourth and bonus point try on the half hour before further good running with the ball presented Cooksammy with his hat-trick six minutes later.

There was still time for outside centre Stefan Shillingford to outpace Stockport's covering defence for a sixth try by the break.

Full back and coach Jon Higgins took over the kicking duties following the departure from the club of Jamie Hearn and converted four of the tries, having opened his account with a fifth minute penalty.

The second half saw Stockport show more resistence in defence as they restricted Stour to an Adam Sturdy try, the loose head prop trundling over on 54 minutes for a rare score.

But Stockport's defence became increasingly stretched in the closing stages and Nathan Bressington took full advantage to sprint over for a couple of late tries and emulate Cooksammy with a hat-trick as well.

All three tries were confidently converted by Higgins, taking his match tally to 17 points.

The outcome was certainly a big move in the right direction for Stour following a string of dismal performances.

A much more significant test awaits this coming Saturday when Stour travel to top of the table Ampthill and District.

Stour: Higgins; Bressington, Shillingford, Barkley, Cooksammy; Dipple, Nash; Sturdy, Dale Garner, Kyle Garner, Hughes, Hurrell, Mukarati, Uzoigwe, Harper. Replacements: Tuipulotu, Page, depper, Moore, Cullen.

Attendance 308