Regional 2 Midlands West

Stratford 19 Newent RFC 13

ON their first visit to Stratford, Newent RFC went down to their third narrow defeat in four games and were left rueing missed opportunities, reports SIMON BARKER.

Once again, the closing minutes of the match saw the Green Army camped deep in the opposition 22 but unable to make their set-piece superiority count in the face of determined defence.

Newent welcomed back Tom Webb from injury to start at fly half, with Nathan Brooks moving to full back to cover for the inured Doug Long and Fin Mellis reverting to the right wing.

Jardel Cooper kept his starting place on the opposite wing after his promising debut against Silhillians.

It was good to see Jacob Ivell as the backs replacement, after his long lay-off following injury in the pre-season game at Gordon League.

The pack was bolstered by the return of Tom Woodman at tighthead.

But the hosts got off to a flying start with a well-constructed try inside two minutes, taking advantage of a badly out of position Newent defence to create the space for prop Angus Wightman to cross to the left of the posts for an unconverted try.

From the restart Newent made the first incursion into the opposition 22, but knocked the ball on 15m out – setting the pattern for the game, which saw the visitors turn over possession due to handling errors in the Stratford 22 on at least half a dozen occasions.

The visitors did get it right on 26 minutes though, with a try stemming from a scrum just inside the Stratford half.

Fin Mellis made good progress down the right before executing a deft cross-field chip towards the posts.

The defence appeared to have it covered but the ball sat up perfectly just shy of the line for Will Hartland to poach the try.

Tom Webb converted, giving Newent a 7-5 lead which they held until half-time, but were unable to add to despite a couple of multi-phased attacks which ended with knock-ons deep in the Stratford 22.

The lead was extended at the start of the second half, when Stratford were penalised on their 22 and Webb slotted the three-pointer.

Newent kept pressing, Dan Fletcher being stopped just short after a strong carry before another golden opportunity ended with a knock-on.

Then two penalties in quick succession gave Stratford a rare entry to the Newent 22 and the game was turned on its head in a couple of minutes.

Stratford went through a few phases before a shift in the angle of attack saw fly-half Nathan Geekie cut through to touch down under the posts without a finger being laid on him.

Dan Whitby added the extras to put Stratford back in the lead 12-10.

Newent’s restart kick was a deep one and Stratford opted to run it back tight to the touchline. Their enterprise was rewarded - with the aid of a few missed tackles - as blindside flanker Oli Thorneywork showed impressive pace to hold off the cover and dive over in the right-hand corner, Whitby adding the touchline conversion for a 19-10 lead.

Webb reduced the deficit when the Newent pack won a penalty at a scrum on the Stratford 22, leaving the game finely balanced at 19-13 going into the final quarter.

Whitby then missed an opportunity to put the hosts more than a converted try ahead when his shot at goal was narrowly off target after Newent were penalised on their 22, but most of the closing minutes were played deep in Stratford territory.

Twice Newent attempted to drive over from 5m lineouts, getting very close on one occasion before Stratford were penalised for pulling down the maul.

Opting for a tap and go from another close range penalty, they then couldn’t find the cohesion or composure to break down a determined and well organised defence.

And eventually a penalty against the visitors gave Stratford the opportunity to clear to touch and start to celebrate the win.

To start the year with two defeats is not what was expected when Newent were clocking up ten successive wins through the autumn.

As veteran Phil Middlemiss put it after the game, some “things aren’t clicking” and the knack of taking chances seems to have been lost temporarily.

The defence was exposed by each of Stratford’s three tries and it may be that Newent are missing the influence of the injured Ben Vincent in this department as much as for his ball carrying, especially as Jack Devries excelled in this area again.

Supporters as much as players and coaches will be hoping for a return to winning ways this Saturday (January 20) at the Rec when Gloucestershire rivals Cheltenham are the visitors.

Meanwhile, Ross RFC are facing a battle to keep their men’s team going, rooted to the bottom of Counties 3 Tribute Gloucestershire North with -24 points after four of their last 1st XV league games were forfeited.

They were undefeated champions of Gloucester 2 League just six years ago, but a club source admitted they were “struggling” to put a team out, owing to a lack of ‘consistent players’, but hadn’t pulled out of the league at this stage.

They are due to play Painswick away a week on Saturday (January 27), followed by Bredon Star at home on Februray 3, and can hopefully get a team on the pitch.