Alcester 9 Stoke Old Boys 3
Midlands Four West (South)
ALCESTER moved into second place as they defeated promotion rivals Stoke Old Boys at Kings Coughton on Saturday, chalking up a ninth successive league win in the process.
Games at Kings Coughton this season have been high-scoring try-fests but this was anything but as a tight battle ensured against the Coventry visitors, who drop to third.
Defences were on top and clear try-scoring opportunities restricted to only three or four, with the game eventually settled by the boot.
The pre-match preparations had all of the feel of a big game. Both sides were out on the field preparing early and, with a decent-sized crowd for the last Saturday before Christmas, including a sizeable contingent from Coventry supporting their men, the stage was set for what turned out to be keenly contested game between two evenly matched sides.
The hosts started playing down the slope and soon gained the early territorial ascendancy. They were awarded a penalty in kicking range inside the first five minutes following an infringement at a scrum.
Teenage centre Jamie Harland, who has assumed kicking duties in the last couple of games, made no mistake with his first attempt at goal to give his side a 3-0 advantage.
The game settled into one that was mostly played at tight quarters. The Coventry men were doing all they could to slow down the home side’s early momentum, with plenty of stoppages in play.
The Red & Blacks did not help themselves though in one such stoppage as No 8 Meka Pieri was yellow-carded for a late tackle on the visiting full back.
Despite being one man down, the pattern of play did not really alter too much and, when they were restored to their full contingent of players, Alcester doubled their lead when Harland struck another accurate penalty through the uprights.
In the closing stages of the first half both sides had a player in the sin-bin. Firstly Alcester’s Louis Smith saw yellow for what the referee adjudged to have been a high tackle, before he was followed into the book moments later by a Stoke player to even the numbers up once more.
Trailing 6-0 at the break, the visitors noticeably upped their game in the early stages of the second half, becoming much more aggressive in the contact situation and running harder at the home defence in possession.
They looked likely to score their first points when their dangerous full back found space deep in Alcester territory, but home left wing Oscar Holland managed to perform a brilliant last-ditch wrap tackle on the attacker as he is was in the process of scoring and a fellow home defender helped wrestle possession from their opponent to prevent him placing the ball down over the line.
This prompted a period of around five minutes in which the visitors camped on the home try line. They managed to get over the line again, but were once more held up in the tackle as the Alcester defence showed great commitment to the cause and literally threw bodies at every contact situation to prevent their line from being breached.
As the half wore on and as tired bodies and minds came to the fore, the game entered into a particularly niggly phase and a number of bouts of ‘handbags’ ensued.
The visitors lost two players in quick succession to the sin-bin during this time and, following one infringement, Harland was presented with a third penalty opportunity from long range which he converted smartly to give his side some scoreboard daylight for the first time at 9-0 ahead.
Alcester also came the closest they had been in the game to crossing the try line when No 8 Phil Birks was only inches short from a short range drive following a period of home possession through their forwards.
With Stoke’s full contingent of players restored, the feisty end to the game continued and this time Alcester flanker Ben Hope was singled out by the referee following another altercation, which meant his side finished the game with 14 men as he became the sixth player to receive the yellow card in the game.
The visitors did get over the line for the third time in the closing stages, on this occasion from a driving maul following a lineout take deep in Alcester territory, but once again the home defenders managed to get under the ball to keep their opponents out.
In the final play of the game and knowing they were unable to claw back the full deficit, Stoke elected to kick at goal when they were awarded a close range penalty – a decision which secured the losing bonus point for being within seven points of Alcester’s score and to give some consolation for their day.
This was an extremely hard fought contest, described as an old school game by some observers. Fittingly therefore the man of the match accolade was given to a home forward with prop Jack Horton leading his pack’s fronting up effort throughout and taking his turn on both sides of the scrum as positions and personnel were switched when replacements were introduced from the bench.
Ahead for Alcester is the mouthwatering prospect of the visit of leaders Bromyard, who travel to Kings Coughton on Saturday, January 7.
The Herefordshire side are the only team to beat Alcester in league rugby this season, which was in the Kings Coughton men’s first league outing of the season. Two points now separate the sides.
Prior to that Alcester host their annual Boxing Day (noon) match between their Chairman’s XV and the President’s XV. All players and spectators are welcome to come and join the fun for what always turns out to be one of the highlights of the season at Kings Coughton.
