Sat 18 Feb 2023, 14:15
Newport were able to make it two wins out of two at the newly named Stade Bloor when they were able to see off basement club Stourbridge for whom time now seems to be running out. They never produced the same silky skills that had seen off Dings Crusaders a fortnight ago but in truth they never looked like it was a game they were going to lose.
The matchday squad of twenty was exactly the same as it was for Dings other than Oli Buckley returning in place of Jake Goulson who had failed to recover from a wrist injury.
There were some rumblings around the ground when Stour were allowed to take the field in their alternative pink away strip which was a very clear clash with the home sides maroon and white but inexplicably ignored by the match officials.
With the wind and slope in their favour it was somewhat of a surprise that Stour chose a short kick-off rather than going deep and it certainly seemed to have backfired when Newport were allowed to exert the early pressure and Jake Leonard crossed in the left-hand corner giving them a 5 – 0 lead after just four minutes of play.
Common sense prevailed and Stour kicked long from the re-start whereupon they were able to force a couple of Newport handling errors that gave them excellent field position, Matt Moseley scything through some fairly fragile home defence for the try but the conversion was missed and the scores were tied at 5 – 5.
Newport always looked dangerous in possession but the accuracy and precision didn’t quite match that of their previous outing and chances were lost. Newport were struggling initially at scrum time against probably the biggest and heaviest front row in the division and when they were penalised, visiting fly half Ricky Aley put the kick into the corner where Chad Thorne emerged as the scorer from a well-executed catch and drive, Aley adding the extras to give the visitors a 5 -12 lead after twenty minutes.
On thirty-three minutes Finn Barnes, who showed up well again in only his second start, hit a great line off Ricky Bailey’s counter attack before feeding the rampaging Nick Murphy who made further ground before the ball was re-cycled left for Danny Brough to finish in the corner for a fine try, Leonard hitting what can only be described as a “flapper” that somehow crept over and between the sticks to make it 12 -12. Matt Hubbart had been making some really hard carries, well supported by Josh Kent and Nat Titchard-Jones. Stour then made a hash of it when the ball was dropped in midfield some twenty metres out, Leonard hacking on and re-gathering to go in under the posts and knock over the simplest of conversions to make it 19 – 12 at the break.
Thankfully, the officials saw sense at the interval and insisted that Stour change to their normal kit of blue and white so when play re-started it was almost as if a large black cloud had been lifted and everything became that much clearer for everyone.
Newport made a great start to the half when Brough collected George Castledine’s re-start and danced his way to within five metres of the Stour line but it was again a chance wasted when they spilled the ball on a powerful forward charge. Newport were now much more comfortable at the scrum but still they couldn’t penetrate the visitor’s defence. Furthermore, the penalty count against them was rising sharply allowing Stour to apply some pressure. First, great Newport defence held them up over the line but when Stour returned the goal line drop-out burly hooker Jack Lea was able to bury his way over under the posts and with Aley’s conversion we were all square again at 19 – 19 with twenty-five minutes left to play.
Despite having the elements in their favour Newport were being made to work hard for both ball and territory. Bailey limped off with a hamstring injury that will doubtless keep him out for several weeks and then a yellow card for Stour saw them temporarily reduced to fourteen, Castledine put the resultant penalty to within fifteen metres and the pack did the rest, driving over the impressive Chris Taylor for the all important fourth try and bonus point. Leonard couldn’t land the conversion but they led 24 -19 and with Stour still a man down appeared to have the game in their grasp.
Half backs, Connor Adams and Castledine were calling the shots as they continually posed threats to the Stourbridge defence. A superb kick from his own twenty-two bounced into touch just ten metres from the visitors line, Newport eventually forcing Stour to concede a five metre scrum, the ball being moved left where Brough scampered in for the try, Leonard converting to make it 31 -19 with just six minutes remaining.
In what should have been the last play of the game Newport put a penalty into touch and only had to take the lineout and put it out to signal the end of the game but Stour stole it and worked their way up the blind side for Dan Rundle to score in the corner and in so doing earn two bonus points for the visitors. It probably won’t be enough to save Stour from the drop but it was, at best, “careless” from Newport.
Newport’s upturn in form since the turn of the year is now beginning to be reflected in the league table where they currently lie in 11th position with 33 points, sitting above Barnstable (28 points having played a game more), Bournville (23 points) and Stourbridge (12 points).
Next week sees the long trip to Exeter where they will be hoping to pick up more points in their quest for survival. For those travelling kick-off is at 2.00pm.
Written by: Chris Wilde
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