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County Championship Plate Group 1
1st round
Saturday 2nd May 2009
East Midlands 24 Staffordshire 10
On a warm day at Peterborough, Staffordshire opened their plate campaign with a hard fought defeat against their hosts East Midlands.
Only 8 players of the squad of 22 play at level 5 or above and with 8 players playing their first championship game, it was a good first effort by Staffs and if a disputed, disallowed try by Rich Kelly had been awarded at the end of the 3rd quarter, Staffs may well have run East Midlands very close in the end. However, with a strong pack and in particular an all Peterborough front row, the real difference in the 2 sides was at the scrum, where the home side dominated their visitors and Ben Oakley (Stoke) Staffs scrum half was left with poor ball to play with behind the scrum.
The game opened brightly for Staffs and on 10 minutes they had taken the lead. With a lineout just outside the East Mids 22, Staffs lost the ball, as it was palmed back, but the ball was loose and quick thinking by prop James Hamilton(Leicester Lions), saw him secure the ball on the floor. A ruck and then drive by the front five then saw the Staffs back row combine to allow Adam Nettell (Leek) to take the final pass and score under the posts. Ollie Pointon (Longton) added the conversion and Staffs led 7-0.
Staffs held the upper hand now and were growing in confidence as they bore down on the East Mids line and were given a penalty deep in the East Mids 22 on 14 minutes. Skipper Liam Wordley (Blackheath) took a quick penalty though and Staffs couldn't finish off as they lost the ball. East Mids cleared and Gareth Brear (Halifax) fielded the ball in centre field and as East Mids came up to defend were penalized for not allowing the release. Ollie Pointon stepped up again and converted the penalty to extend Staffs lead to 10-0.
This was as good as it was going to be for Staffs and from the restart, East Mids started to pressurize Staffs. Eventually on 19 minutes from a lineout on Staffs 10 metre line, the Staffs backs were sucked in by the hard running East Mids back row and the quick thinking East Mids scrum half darted through a gap at the side of the maul to release his inside centre to score a try by the posts. The conversion was simple and Staffs' lead had been cut to 10-7.
Staffs were pinned in their own half for the next 10 minutes as only brave defence kept East Mids out, but on 25 minutes, a superb move in midfield saw the East Mids open side flanker take a great line from a pass from the fly half to sprint through the gap and score under the posts. The conversion was successful and East Mids now led 14-10.
3 minutes later and the unfortunate Joel Booth (Longton) was injured as a maul collapsed and he was replaced by Joe Carpenter (Willenhall), the exciting Midlands Under 20 blindside flanker. Staffs recovered their composure and started to control more ball and a series of penalties saw them once again deep in the East Mids 22. Again, Staffs chose to run the ball and their ambition, though commendable, didn't result in any points and East Mids cleared.
To add to Staffs woes, Ollie Pointon had to be replaced in the centre and this meant John Philliskirk (Burton) who had started at fullback had to move to inside centre with Luke Fowles (Harrogate) moving to full back and Andy Green (Longton) coming onto the wing. Then in the 4th minute of added time, East Mids extended their lead as the open side flank broke the Staffs line and the outside centre scored near the posts. His try was converted and East Mids led 21-10 as the half time whistle blew.
As the second half opened, Staffs suffered another injury as young open side flanker Adam Nettell had to leave the field with a leg injury. This meant further wholesale changes as George Glenn (Longton) came into hooker and hooker Liam Wordley moved to the flank. Senior coach, Karl Ashfield (Burton), then decided to make 2 substitutions on 47 minutes when Dan Needham (Leek) came on at scrum half and Tim Lee (Stoke) came on to replace Mark Deaville (Leicester) in the 2nd row.
3 minutes later and the game was effectively decided as Staffs conceded a penalty for coming in at the side of a ruck. The dependable fly half slotted the goal and drew East Mids further ahead to 24-10.
Rob Wakelin (Burton) came on at prop for James Hamilton after 50 minutes and Staffs started to win some ball and retain it again. The East Mids pack started to tire after their superb effort for 60 minutes and Staffs began to exert more pressure. On 66 minutes, Staffs thought they had scored a try as Rich Kelly (Stoke) sprinted for the line following a quick tapped penalty 8 metres from the East Mids line. The touch judge signalled a score to the referee, but he adjudged the ball had gone forward and East Mids cleared after the scrum.
East Mids then made 4 forward substitutions as it became clear Staffs had upped their game, but on 70 minutes, Paul Ensor (Unattached) Staffs tight head prop had to leave the field and Danny Clarke (Willenhall) came on. This meant scrums became uncontested and the game was played out without further score.
Staffs, to their credit, stuck manfully to the task, and with Durham travelling to Lichfield next Saturday for the 2nd championship match, improvement is likely and as Durham and MLD had drawn their opening fixture, 26 all, Staffs are by no means out of this championship.
Team:
John Philliskirk (Burton; Luke Fowles (Harrogate), Ollie Pointon (Longton), Gareth Brear (Halifax), Dan Archer (Burton); Gary McDermott (Leek), Ben Oakley (Stoke);
James Hamilton (Leicester Lions), Liam Wordley (Blackheath), Paul Ensor (Unattached); Mark Deaville (Leicester), Rich Kelly (Stoke); Joel Booth (Longton), Adam Nettell (Leek), Jim Morris (Burton)
Reps: George Glenn (Stoke), Rob Wakelin (Burton), Danny Clarke (Willenhall), Joe Carpenter (Willenhall), Tim Lee (Stoke), Dan Needham (Leek), Andy Green (Longton)
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