Another week – another away trip to a County leading club. This time it was Worcester to face perennial North Mids Cup winners and the defacto Warriors Academy.

Stroud were back to decent numbers with 4 of our Glos Academy players back for their first combined strength team game since December. We had 20 players (Super sub Fin had gone back to the footballing dark side) so we would have fresh legs to call upon – but Worcester had almost 30 players – all fighting for a place in their cup final squad – so Stroud were in for a very competitive game and their fitness and skills would be in for another stern test.

After the car crash that was Banbury the week before the selection committee took the keys away from the Phillips/Vale team, debated that Stoner had better driving skills after his recent bike test, and then handed the keys to the Stroud sports car to safe hands Jo and Mark. Could they fire up the engine and get a vintage 2019 performance out of this finely tuned performance vehicle?

We were still missing a #13 and #14 so we adapted with another rejigged lineup.

Forwards: Carlo, Orgy, Stoner, Laurie, Jedd, Harry, Jake, Mr T
Backs: Hilly, Will, Dave, Lofty, Flash, Perys, Alex
Subs: Ryan, James, Euan, Darion, Bernie

Another fierce wind greeted the players and Worcester won the toss and took the wind advantage.

Stroud kicked off and were penalised for off-side so Worcester kicked the penalty to touch. Stroud stole the lineout though and Will kicked to touch. Worcester were very powerful in the lineout and won it cleanly. Good tackling from Jake and Lofty slowed down the big runners but a penalty was inevitable. Worcester’s kick missed touch and Lofty kept the ball alive but at the next breakdown Stroud knocked on and Worcester had a scrum restart on halfway that they duly won. Good hands worked the ball into the Stroud 22 and they threatened the try line but stout defending kept them out. Flanker Perys in the #11 shirt showed great skills to intercept the ball and give Stroud some ball control. The forwards took over and Jed and Laurie powered out to the 22. Hilly saw an opportunity and set the backs away. Dave and Lofty weaved up the wing and into the Worcester half with a great exchange of passes. Ball back inside to Jake and he carried it upto the 22. Good defending looked to have stopped the chance but a lovely offload to a looping Dave and he smashed his way past the last defender and dived over for the opening try. The Difficult conversion was missed but Stroud had hit top gear early and taken a 5-0 lead with a fantastic length of pitch try that any team would be proud of. Defense to attack in a blink of an eye.

Worcester kicked off and more uncertainty let the ball bounce and Worcester showing great footballing skills hacked it into the dead ball area and just missed the final touch. Back for a 22 drop out that Will kicked deep but a disorganised kick chase gave Worcester an easy run back deep into the Stroud half. More great tackling though kept Worcester in check and eventually Stroud won another penalty with great work at the breakdown by Orgy and Mr T. The penalty kick stayed in play and Worcester kicked it back with interest. Flash covered it up but a good kick chase won the turnover and a simple dive to the line to score. Kick missed with the scores level at 5-5

Stroud's kickoff went straight into touch so back for a Worcester scrum on halfway. Stroud were competing well with good control from front rowers Carlo, Orgy and Stoner. Worcester won the strike battle and attacked through the backs but disciplined defence kept them in the middle third. The teams traded lineouts, knock-ons, scrums and ferocious breakdowns with no one in the ascendency. Will’s defensive kicks were relieving pressure. Dave’s typical bruising runs gained yardage and inflicted pain on his opposite numbers. Harry and Jake were rucking well and clearing out their opponents with glee. Mr T carrying on from last weeks stellar performance was gaining hard yards and earning double tackles from Worcester. One of those led to an enforced injury replacement and re-jig of the forwards. Bernie came on and was soon into the action with more trademark wrap tackling and forceful running. Carlo was now unleashed at #8 and followed the Mr T guidebook and kept Stroud moving forward.

Stroud adapted into the backs and Alex and Dave had good runs. A Dave kick into space was expertly chased down by Flash but he was forced into touch. Worcester were dominating the lineout so secured good ball. They crashed through the middle and only Bernie’s brave chin was strong enough to bring down the rampaging runner. A trip to A&E would be his reward for dental surgery. Worcester went back to the kicking game but Alex was ready with a good runback. Ruck won by Orgy and Laurie – the blue scrum caps making them look like twins – with a twin clearout that Danny Devito and Schwarzenegger would be proud of. Lofty had a good run but Worcester were equally disciplined in defense and the gaps were few and far apart to exploit easily. A great inside pass from Will to Carlo and Stroud gained another 30 metres into the Worcester 22. Will kicked sideways but Worcester recovered it well – only to be smashed into the ground by a brave Euan tackle. Stoner was next with a pile driver and stalemate ensued.

Worcester kicked long and Perys ran it out well. Laurie had a powerful run. Then the backs took over and Dave broke through the middle, upto half way and kicked over the full back and a try looked certain but a cynical late tackle dragged him down and Stroud's only reward was a penalty on the Worcester 22 and not a 12-5 lead. Dave’s ankle had taken a nasty knock and he was seen limping for the rest of the half. To add insult to Dave’s injury Will’s kick missed touch but Worcester knocked on so Stroud had a scrum 5 metres from the promised land. A great surge won the hook but Worcester battled well and won a turnover. Harry fought valiantly to win it back with help from Darion. Worcester edged up the pitch but good mauling led by hop-a-long Dave won Stroud a scrum near halfway. Orgy again aced the put-in and Hilly set the backs away but a loose pass went to ground and Worcester picked it up and attacked down the wing. Alex went across with last gasp tackle to deny the runner but expert skills offloaded to a support runner who ran in the go-ahead try. Kick missed and the half time whistle went to end an exhilarating half.

Half Time: Worcester 10 - 5 Stroud

Dave’s ankle had finally given up so he was replaced for the rest of the game and the other subs came on and the backs were rejigged again with Lofty at 9, Ryan at 10, Will at 12, Jake at 13, James at 11 and the only ones to be unaffected were Flash and Alex. Stroud now had the wind so the 2nd half would be a chance to impose themselves on the game. Worcester had ample subs and a new lineup with fresh legs was ready to accept the challenge from the boys in blue.

Worcester's kickoff went into touch but they managed to steal Stroud’s lineout. They attacked down the left wing and another Alex tackle went unrewarded as another expert offload earnt another try. 1 minute in and Stroud were up against it. Now down 15-5.

Stroud were still in the game though. Worcester received the kick off and kicked it back. James did well to control it and then Jed had a good run that earnt a penalty. Will kicked to the corner and Laurie won the lineout. Stroud setup for a drive but Worcester defended it expertly and stole the ball. They ran it out but good tackling from Stoner and Euan was neutralising the threats. A knock-on was forced and Stroud won the scrum. Lofty sniped, then released Ryan who had a great run and then passed onto Will who weaved some magic. Worcester again infringed but this time the penalty kick went long into the dead ball area and it came back for a Worcester scrum that they duly won. Good hands from the backs worked the ball up the pitch. Perys was tackling well but eventually the pressure told and Worcester found a gap and touched down for another try out wide. Another kick missed in the wind with them leading at 20-5.

The rain had started to hammer down. The river Severn was rising and Stroud were hoping for a flooded pitch and a gentleman's draw. In the storm Worcester kicked deep and Alex ran it back well. The attack moved onto Lofty and he ran down the left he had a 3-1 overlap and released the perfect pass but another dubious decision as a deliberate knock-on was not penalised with a penalty try as it would have been an easy walk in under the posts. What could have been. Should have been 20-19 with 2 decisions not going Stroud's way. Instead it was 20-5 and the penalty kick again missed touch and Worcester escaped with +7 point advantage and a scrum restart. That’s life kids. We’ll get the rub of the green next time.

Stroud were beginning to tire. Constant defending and tackling was taking its toll. It was demoralising to put in a great tackle and expect to win a knock-on or have a fight at the breakdown, but instead see another expert offload and the attack carry on at pace and keep the pressure on constantly. The pressure told and Worcester ran in another try – kick missed for 25-5.

5 minutes later and missing Carlo who had gone off with a nasty throat injury (get well soon) Stroud were again under pressure. Worcester crashed through the middle and again Alex was the last line of defense with another strong tackle. The ball went to ground but the support runner was well placed to hack on and a lovely bounce into his hands gave him another try in the corner for 30-5.

The next phase of the game was a carbon copy. Worcester knew how to exploit a good thing. This time Alex’s tackle forced a knock-on though so Stroud had a scrum in their own half that was duly won. Jake had a good run followed by Laurie. Lofty box kicked into space and Worcester infringed. Stroud kicked for the corner but the lineout went astray in the wind. Worcester ran it out and again Alex had to deny them another try. Stroud hadn’t given up and kept defending to the end but a good kick from Worcester was recovered by the winger and he weaved back inside and scored under the posts. Finally a conversion was kicked to make it 37-5.

Stroud were close to empty though and their kickoff was poorly defended and Worcester ran it straight back for another try at 42-5. The last game action was a great leaping Lofty catch from the kickoff. A kick to the corner on another penalty and then another loose lineout in the wind that was rewarded with a full time whistle.

Full Time: Worcester 42 – 5 Stroud

Team debrief was held and another tough day at the office was discussed. The 1st half had been excellent but the 2nd half had been hard work with very little ball and constant defending. Fair play to Worcester they were excellent in all phases. You can see why they win everything and have as many Warriors Academy players on their books. They play in the shadow of Sixways and no doubt some of those players will play inside that stadium in years to come.

2 losses on the trot and the Selection Committee (aka the noisy parents) were reviewing the coaches lineup choices and substitutions. The Phillips/Vale combo pitched their lineup choice and strategy decisions – vowing to have learnt from the Banbury experience. The Selectors laughed in their face and declared it would have been a 142-5 if we’d run the team so Jo/Mark were re-instated as lead coaches and the relief amongst parents and players was palpable.

Coach Samak donned his Churchill disguise and gave a rousing speech to motivate the players. It was the same he gives his Nomads every Saturday afternoon so he’s just reading from a script kids – but what a good script it is!

Remember lads you are playing the best teams in the country. Last week its Banbury who are the best in Oxon, Berks and Bucks. This week it was Worcester who are the strongest in Worcs & Herefordshire. Soon we have Chippenham who are this years Dorset and Wilts champs. A close loss to Farnham Surrey champs and beating Glos champs Clifton and Cinderford shows what we can do after a few weeks of joint training. Teams want to play Stroud because they know how good we are and they want to be pushed like we want to push ourselves by playing the best and learning from the best.

We're only a small market town in the Shires taking on the sprawling big cities and rugby powerhouses so punching well above our weight! Long may it last!

On the plus side we scored the best try of the game with a great combination of passing to go the length of the pitch. Lets build on this and go to Berry Hill next weekend and get back on the winning bandwagon.

The best news of the day was to follow though. France lost to Scotland and England’s 6 Nations championship hopes are under their own control. Always nice to finish the match report on a high......