Sat 22 Oct 2022, 15:00
Newport prevail at Stourbridge in a battle of playing styles
Stourbridge 27 Newport 37
By: Peter Maher
Newport ran out ultimately comfortable winners at Stourbridge on Saturday in what was a fast paced and exciting game. Stour’s game plan was clear from the start. Using their backs to maneuver possession into the twenty-two by either boot or pass then allow the large, some might say throwback pack to batter down the door. It is a simple and at times effective game plan but somewhat at odds with the pace afforded by the artificial 4G pitch on which Stour play. Newport despite apparently giving up some weight in the pack stood up to the challenge well engineering a number of try line stops. Ultimately it was Port’s better use of the fast surface, particularly in the second half that saw them home. With the referee happy to award a penalty at any sign of a jackal and the fast surface territory was won and last with a fluidity not often seen on a natural surface.
The scoring was opened by Stour after twelve minutes with a typical piece of eight-man pressure leading to number eight Nigel Mukarati dotting down. James Morton came on for the injured Keifer Laxton after twenty minutes and was soon a thorn in Stour’s side with his pacey running and mobility around the pitch Port responded after twenty-four minutes when, following some good go forward from the backs Max Himbury found a hole in Stour’s defence at midfield and raced in for the score, converted by Connor Adams. Fast paced play and use of the width of the pitch characterised Port’s play all afternoon. Stour responded almost immediately with Mukarati crossing again in twenty-six minutes following the familiar forward battering ram. Gittoes extended the Stour lead to 19-7 with a further try on the half hour. Newport then struck back from the restart with strong carries from Buckley and Boughy setting up a sweeping backs move that was finished by the pacey De Jager, the extras were added by Adams.
After forty minutes it was more fast paced play from Port exploiting the edges well which saw De Jager put away by Jack Wells and making it to within touching distance of the line. Stour recovered but succeeded only in clearing straight to Morton who ran in the try. Stour took the ball straight back to the Port twenty-two on the restart and Moseley slotted a penalty to give the hosts a slim half time lead of 22-19.
Port looked energised coming out for the second half and seemed to sense that they would have the better of a tiring Stour pack in the second forty. The start of the second half saw more back and forth with territory seemingly won and lost in an instant. Jake Leonard however steadied the ship with a fifty twenty-two kick after fifty-two minutes that gave Port the lineout ten metres from the hosts line. A penalty was subsequently won which Adams duly despatched to level the scores. Port where right back at Stour from the restart camping in the host’s twenty-two. Pressure finally told in the fifty ninth minute when Morton went in for his second of the day, duly converted by Adams. Port then gathered from the restart and were at Stour again with this time Jake Leonard finding a soft shoulder to cross for the try on sixty-one minutes.
Port then withstood a period of Stour pressure holding up a try attempt after sixty-five minutes and clearing with a goal line drop. Stour’s pressure finally told after seventy-two minutes following a familiar driving maul. On seventy-eight minutes Connor Adams iced the game by kicking a penalty which extended the lead to two scores.
A great performance from Port that had the fans buzzing and the reward of a welcome five points lifting the team to ninth in the table with seventeen points. Definitely one for the archives!
Team: Leonard, Gamble, Himbury, Perry, De Jager, Castledine, Adams C, Titchard-Jones, Wells, O’Neill, Buckley, Boughy, Kent, Laxton, Forbes. Replacements Grass, Adams M, Goulson, Morton, Brown
Man of the Match: George Castledine
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