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STAFFORDSHIRE 53 NOTTS, LINCS & DERBYS 10
by Mike Bowen
It was the third time that Staffordshire had played Notts, Lincs, and Derbyshire in this competition and although it was the first time that they had won luck had little to do with the result. On a hot balmy afternoon at Stafford RFC the home team got straight into their stride when, after fourteen minutes, Alistair Muldowney (Stourbridge) got possession near the half way line. He sold an outrageous dummy and sprinted through the gap he generated before passing to Steve Edwards (Burton) who scored in the right hand corner. From the touch line Mike Swetman (Longton) kicked a superb conversion to give Staffs the best of starts. There was no resting on any laurels however because two minutes later Staffs scored their second try and conversion. This time Steve Edwards made a cheeky break in three counties’ territory and laid on a simple run-in for Josh Fowles (Broad Street).
Staffs forwards were by this stage taking a strong hold on the game and after turning over opposition ball left wing Ollie Pointon (Longton) sped away on the overlap to score wide out - the conversion attempt just missing its target. Notts, Lincs and Derbyshire at last made their presence felt when they eventually got into Staffs half and forced them to concede a penalty which fly half Greg Moore (Notts Trent University) kicked. This only seemed to irritate Staffs as, straight from the restart, they immediately pressurised the visitors’ line. A rolling maul by the superior forwards resulted in Matt Aston (Nuneaton) crossing the line after charging through a number of would-be tacklers.
The tough conditions had caused numerous stoppages and in the eighth minute of time added on the Counties side scored their only try. Scrum half Matt Rollinson (Notts Trent University) took a tap penalty, made a half break which lock Ben Fowcett (Scunthorpe) completed allowing Greg Moore to add the extra points. Half time 24 – 10.
The dominance displayed by Staffs in the first half continued into the second and even though the sapping weather conditions showed on both sides it was the hosts whose stamina held best. As if to show his opposite number that he too could take advantage with quick tap penalties, Steve Edwards did just that and, after inter-passing with his three quarters, fly half Gary McDermott (Longton) rounded off under the posts - Mike Swetman again adding the two points. Steve Talbot’s (Stoke) fresh legs made a telling impact soon after his inclusion. He immediately went on to the offensive and his strong run put Keiron Healey (Longton) in.
Staffs piled on more pressure and their efforts were rewarded with three more tries by Alistair Muldowney, Steve Talbot and Mike Swetman in that order. One was converted to give Staffs an emphatic 53 – 10 points victory.
The result was the start of celebrations for Staffordshire stalwart Jeff Scholes. After at least a quarter century of sterling service to County rugby Jeff retired from administrative duties. His know-how and style will be extremely difficult to replace.
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