On Saturday we saw the welcome return of the Nomads in the Stroud and District Combination Junior Cup. Having drawn a tough away fixture against Cirencester RFC II, a good buzz at training in the week leant a determined air to the squad that arrived at the Whiteway looking for a semi final win that would put the side one game away from silverware.

The Nomads side was comprised of a real mix of ages. Players ranged from teenagers taking their first steps in senior rugby to some seasoned veterans with half a century of accumulated rugby naus:

Damien Cox, Pat Courts, Rhys Sowden, Darion Lambert, Laurie Hayes, Kyle Litton, Mark Phillips, Mark Samak, Oscar Adamson, Tiaan Litton, Jamie Leworthy, Elliot Bonham, Marcus Martin, Sam Strange, Alex Vale, James Ferry, Bob Bashford, Iain Bushall, Chris Jones, Fin Hill

Stroud won the toss and elected to kickoff going down the slope in first half. The initial exchanges were closely contested, with Stroud having the most of the territory but Cirencester the lions share of possession. Enterprising attacks were launched by both teams but a mix of stoic defence and the scoring pass missing its mark on more than one occasion meant that despite some entertaining play the scoreboard was unmoved.

The venerable back row combination of Mark’s Phillips and Samak were a constant threat at the breakdown the whole afternoon, and a trademark Phillips turnover gave Stroud the quick ball they needed to catch the Ciren defence on the back foot. A powerful surge down the left wing saw wing Jamie Leworthy power over the line for the opening score.
Ciren IIs 0-5 Nomads.

The knock on from the restart gave Ciren head and feed at the scrum in Stroud’s half, however the Nomad’s set piece was starting to click through the gears and powerful Nomads scrummaging lead by the front row of Cox, Courts and Sowden saw Ciren penalised. A long range kick and more strong work at the breakdown provided the Nomads with a line out platform deep in Ciren’s half. An exciting passage of play saw Stroud hammering at the Ciren line, but further scores were thwarted by strong Ciren defence. A kick out on the full gave Stroud the ball back in the Ciren 22 and a knock on in the tackle 5 meters out allowed another powerful Nomad’s scrum to set the platform for Oscar Adamson to scramble over under the posts.
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Iain Bushell replaced Alex Vale as a blood substitution.

Ciren regathered the restart, however another Captain Phillips turnover saw the Nomads spread the ball wide. “Joué! Joué!” was the cry from the sidelines as a powerful bust and break down the wing from Jamie Leworthy and soft hands from the back three eventually fed flyhalf Tiaan Litton who galloped over in the left corner.
0-17.

Half Time: Cirencester RFC II 0-17 Stroud Nomads

The second half began in much the same way as the first had ended, with Stroud pressing the Ciren line but ultimately unable to convert pressure into points. Playing down the hill Ciren turned to their powerful forward pack, with some powerful carries and a string of penalties taking play into the Stroud 22. The Nomads line held strong for several minutes until a powerful surge from the Cirencester loosehead breached the line for Ciren’s first points. 5-17

Next followed a frenetic passage of play where possession switched back and forth as both sides attacked with intent and only strong defence from both teams prevented further scores. With Stroud under pressure scrum half Oscar Adamson was shown yellow for a tip tackle on a Cirencester forward. Ciren lost no time taking advantage of the extra man, manipulating the space well to score another uncovered try. 10-17

With the advantage of the slope and the extra man Cirencester pressed the Nomads defence hard once again, and despite some determined defending from the away team Ciren once again pressed home their advantage to score a converted try, bringing the score to 17-17.

The Ciren score seemed to galvanise the Nomads. The call to action was taken up from the kick off as the pack secured the ball and a series of powerful carries led by the likes of Sowden, Jones, Hayes and Bashford took play into the Ciren 22. A penalty in the wide channels gave Stroud a line out 5 meters out. A knock on from the Ciren jumper gave Stroud the ball back 5 meters out and the pack went back to work, with a barrage of short carries leading to multiple penalty advantages and taking play right to the Ciren line. Before the try line could be breached however, the referee gave another penalty and a yellow card to one of the Cirencester players. Stroud pressed their advantage with more determined forward play before a penalty in front of the posts gave Stroud the chance to kick for the win. The (ultimately successful) kick reminded some spectators of the words of the late great Bill McLaren: “It was as if he’s kicked about 3lbs of Haggis that time as it’s barely got off the ground.”

Stroud took the kick off and cleared to touch for a well deserved win. The 20-17 final score sees the Nomads through to the Junior Cup final later in the season.

The performance was summed up beautifully and succinctly after the match:
“That was peak nomads rugby: [Insanity] with flashes of absolute brilliance.”

The game was a joy to watch, with passages of excellent rugby across the whole team: in the pack, a powerful set piece and some strong short carries were led by a rotating front row combination of Bashford, Courts, Cox and Sowden, while excellent lineout ball was secured by locks Lambert and Hayes, who both also put in their share of carries and running in the wide channels. The experienced back row combination of Jones, Samak and Captain Phillips offered an irresistible combination of big carries, hard hits and ball poaching ability, with a first senior appearance for James Ferry adding some effervescent energy and youthful enthusiasm. The backline demonstrated a balance of speed, power, pace and skill: with incisive running and handling from the likes of Adamson, Hill, T Litton and Vale and power and pace provided by Bonham, Bushell, Leworthy, K Litton, Martin and Strange. All in all, it was an excellent performance the bodes very well for the senior club next season!

The Player of the Match was Rhys Sowden: playing his first Nomads game, Rhys put in an impressive physical performance, scrummaging strongly against a big Ciren pack, tackling hard and and carrying well in open play. Congratulations on an excellent performance Rhys!

We await confirmation on the date for the 1st XV's Senior Combination Cup fixture, at Home against Cirencester RFC, as well as confirmation of the Nomad's opponents of the Junior Cup final later this season.