Newbold travelled to unbeaten league leaders Stoke on Trent looking to break into the winning enclosure on a bright but somewhat windy afternoon. A good and stalwart band of supporters had also made the trip north hoping to see some free-flowing Rugby with plenty to cheer about and the two teams did not disappoint.
Stoke got proceedings underway with a high kick that was well taken by Captain for the day Ben Dawes who was relishing the role and looking extremely at ease with it. From the outset, Stoke’s game plan seemed to be to give it to their forwards and let them run at the Newbold defence who were more than a willing match, constantly driving them back after many, many phases. After only 6 six minutes of hard graft, Stokes big number 8 announced to the crowd he was somewhat tired which was met with some jovial remarks including Newbold’s Chairman Paul Fereday stating that “we would need to clean that remark up” if it was to go in the paper!! More stern defence from Newbold saw the ball make its way back to Dan who cleared from inside Newbolds 22 with an absolute monster kick to inside Stokes 22, the line out was won by Newbold however Stoke managed to turn the ball over to place more huge pressure on Newbolds defence who again rose to the challenge fantastically, taking the ball back off Stoke, Dan again launched a bomb that Stoke could only kick into touch on their own 5 meter. Newbold won the line out and drove for the line, it was now Stoke's turn to defend and defend they did, wave after wave of Newbold pressure was cut short when Newbold thought they had the first try only to be told they had been “held up” over the line. The two packs lined up for a monumental scrum, as the ball came in brilliant work from the entire pack saw Sam Thompson score from the back after an immense push over for a converted try. The euphoria of the opening try was not to last long as Stoke started to go through some gears, blasting holes in the now weary Newbold defence. To their credit the lads did extremely well keeping the rampaging Stoke forwards out but the Stoke try was inevitable and was scored by the “tired” No 8 but the conversion was missed, 5-7 after at the end of the first quarter. From the kickoff, some intricate plays from both sides matched with hard defence saw Ben Hartwell stop another wave of Stoke pressure and gain a Newbold penalty 34 meters’ out and Dawesy pointed towards the uprights. Dan O’Brien stepped up and produced a quality kick, sailing through the posts with a good 15 meters to spare and Newbold were again on the score sheet pushing their advantage to 5 points, 5-10 Newbold with half an hour gone.
With the first half nearly at an end, Stoke got a line out on the Newbold 5-meter line, it seemed an absolute age waiting for the opposition hooker to throw the ball in to the line (as it was for all their line outs!) but Stoke won the ball and drove over from a well-worked move to bring the score level after again missing the conversion. From the kickoff and subsequent clearance, a line out formed on the halfway and for some unexplained reason the Newbold No 2 had words with the linesman regarding his behaviour, something the Newbold travelling support took umbrage with and let the hooker know there is no place in our beautiful game for? With the game swinging back and forth, full back James McGill made a dazzling break, gaining a penalty 44 meters out and again the Captain made the correct call and went for goal, Dan O’Brien stroking the ball through majestically to give Newbold the lead at 10-13 with less than 3 minutes left of an enthralling first half. After clearing from the Newbold 22 up to and beyond the Stoke 10 meter line, Stoke launched their counter-attack, the only downside of the half for Newbold was some slack tackling which lead to Stoke crashing through and over under the posts for a converted try to give them the half time lead, 17-13 which on the whole was a good result for Newbold after soaking up the pressure that was applied by Stoke.
Some changes were made at half time by Stoke and Dan’o got the half underway launching a high ball to Stokes replacement prop who looked like he could have been a colt when the Titanic sank!! However, the man was a playing miracle, a true testament of keeping his youth and an inspiration to his younger team mates, his own supporters and the travelling band of Rugby enthusiasts. With 5 minutes gone, Stoke infringed giving Newbold and Dano’s boot another chance to close the gap from 35 meters out, this time a much more difficult kick into a strong wind, this did not cause any concern as the ball flew through the uprights bringing the score to within 1 point 17-16 with game was finely balanced.
The game was going either way and it was whoever blinked first would be on the wrong end of the result, some rather inferior tackling meant it Newbold as Stoke charged through the defence under the posts to edge away from the heroic Newbold effort. With the score standing at 24-16, Newbold made their way up field from the restart and after some brutal exchanges Newbold were handed a penalty by Stoke for holding on, Dan’o stepped up as the wind began to blow hard and the kick sailed just right of the posts for the first miss of the afternoon, a very difficult kick by anyone’s standards. Dan’o made up for the miss a few minutes later after a barnstorming run from the Captain who again gained a Newbold penalty and Newbold closed the gap to 5 points at 24-19.
Newbold could sense, sniff if you will a try was in the offing, pressing hard they went for a backs move only for it to be cruelly intercepted and the Stoke No 22 ran in under the posts valiantly chased by the Newbold backs, a harsh blow in the grander scheme of things which the lads did not deserve, the try was converted and Stoke had their bonus point 31-19.
The Newbold heads could have dropped at this point however, the lads are made of sterner stuff and from the kick pushed harder than ever before, some fantastic phases with slick passing, good hard running and in equal measure outstanding support play, it was only the rub of the green that was letting them down at this point.
Stoke kept the foot down and punched the ball upfield and a slight fumble gave them the line out on the Newbold 10-meter line. Great work in the line out saw Rudi Reid break from the back, head down rampaging towards the Stoke defence. The ball went through the hands sublimely and Manny Sidhu launched an attack, with James McGill on hand to draw the defence he passed back to Manny who ran in the unconverted try to draw Newbold within 7 at 31-24 with less than 5 minutes left.
Newbold were now in the ascendancy, pushing harder and harder, Stoke seemed rattled and their impressive unbeaten start to the season was looking shaky albeit a draw was beckoning, Newbold carried well bounding upfield, bouncing off tackles, knocking the opposition back at every turn. Up to the halfway line, they went, pushing, pressing with a gleam in their eye. The ball was speculatively kicked forward and Stoke gathered. Running as hard as they had all game, Stoke came back despite some ferocious tackling by the whole Newbold squad and with the last play of the game stole the losing bonus point Newbold quite rightly deserved.
Newbold go into Saturdays home game against Stourbridge lions (KO 3pm) still looking for the allusive win. It’s there for the taking, it’s there if we believe, it’s there if we want it more. The momentum is building, the team is getting better with every game. As in everything a slice of good fortune could and will ignite the fire in the lad’s bellies, let’s hope that slice appears this weekend.
All support is gladly needed, as the lads have been on their travels so far this season they would welcome your support, kick off at 3pm please come along and show your appreciation.
We go again!!
Penned by Keith Fletcher
