Sat 10 Dec 2022
The ground was crinkly, OK where the grass cover was intact but very firm where the mud was exposed. The captains and the referee agreed it was playable and so it proved to be.
The score was not really a reflection of the match and it seemed a lot closer than the score might suggest.
Redditch's patched up scrum was no match for the powerful Stourport 8, but they fronted up scrum after scrum, and never called for the "soft option" of calling for uncontested scrums.
Redditch defended bravely but with little set piece ball coming to them the defensive effort was mighty. Stourport ran the ball at every opportunity running Redditch from side to side until the gaps appeared.
Perversely Redditch had their best period of play in the last 10 minutes after Stourport had made some replacements. Just as we might have expected Redditch to be tiring and Stourport to be fresh the opposite occurred.
Suddenly the scrum was holding its own and with a little possession Redditch were able to score under the posts. This lifted the spirits but further runs by Jon Beale and Clarke Parker were met by smashing tackles from the fired up Stourport players.
The positional changes in the back line seemed to work and the centres worked well together in defence. The massive effort by the forwards is to be commended but the result went in favour of the home team who were fit, fast and well drilled with a good command of the basics of Rugby.
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