Stourbridge 20 Cinderford 13 (From Stourbridge News)

Stourbridge 20 Cinderford 13

9:42am Monday 8th March 2010

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LATE tries for Stourbridge hooker Harry Collins and prop Adam Sturdy, both from driving lineouts, paved the way for what may prove to be a season-defining win. As in the October game between the sides, Cinderford led for much of the match, only to be edged out in the final quarter by a margin much narrower than the scoreline suggests.

For Stour, nine points in eight days has brought breathing space. Although they still have plenty to do to recover their autumn form, confidence is clearly returning.

Next week’s trip to Redruth is followed by a home game with Sedgley Park. Two wins would put a top half finish firmly back on the agenda.

An open, entertaining first quarter remained scoreless after both sides missed 40 metre penalty chances.

Scottish referee Cammie Rudkin then sent former Bees favourite Dave Knight to the sin bin on 27 minutes, following a ruck offence.

After James kicked the visitors into a 3-0 lead with an angled 25 metre penalty, the home side responded with a try of real quality.

Captain Ben Hughes carried strongly, before quick ball, and Ben Barkley’s superb hands gave winger Charlie Fellows just enough room to squeeze into the corner, to produce a 5-3 half time lead.

James edged the Foresters back ahead soon after the interval, but he missed two other good opportunities, and with Bressington also going wide from 30 metres, a quiet third quarter was otherwise scoreless.

Cinderford’s forward effort was let down by a lack of cutting edge behind the scrum. This meant Stour were never more than a point adrift, and with flankers Rupert Cooper and James Rodley growingly influential, the match remained in the balance as it entered the final stages.

After a 60 metre Matt Williams kick and excellent Tom Richardson chase set up good field position, a powerful lineout drive, led by Stour’s most recent centurion, Simon Homer, drove Collins over for his first score of the season.

Six minutes later, a near carbon copy seemed to clinch the match. This time Sturdy was the beneficiary, touching down his second try in consecutive weeks, and Bressington’s first successful kick in five added the extras.

But the sin binning of Stour’s on loan Northampton prop John Vickers five minutes from time, allowed the Foresters’ South African winger Kyle Palm to claim a converted score.

The visitors scented an unlikely win, but the concession of a penalty deep in their own territory quickly allowed Bressington to calm home nerves with a 35 metre kick.

Stourbridge: Williams; Bressington, Billig, Barkley, Fellows; Robinson, Higgins (Richardson, 61); Sturdy (Vickers, 76), Collins, Vickers (Baker, 61); Atkinson, Hughes; Rodley, Cooper, Pearson (Homer, 61). Reps – Watkins, Thomas.

Cinderford: Hawley; Winchie (Stevenson, 41), Boston, D.Knight, Palm; James, Pointon (Arnott, 72); Kennedy (Meadows, 72), Hall (Duncan, 45), S.Knight; Bufton, Wright (Panaho, 72); Jones, Foden, Evans.

Referee – C.Rudkin (SRFU) Scorers and Times: Stourbridge – Tries: Fellows (35), Collins (70), Sturdy (76) Conversions: Bressington (76) Penalties: Bressington (80) Cinderford – Tries: Palm (79) Conversion: James (79) Penalties: James (33), (42) Man of the Match: Rupert Cooper (Stourbridge)

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