Stroud forced to take defeat on the Chin-nor (From Stroud News and Journal)

Stroud forced to take defeat on the Chin-nor

Chinnor 40, Stroud 15

STROUD visited Chinnor hoping to kick-start their season following a recent disappointing sequence of losses, and that after such a good run in the National Cup.

Stroud were out of the blocks quickly, the fowards winning good ball for their backs to prise open Chinnor's defence almost at will.

It came as no surprise when Stroud's talented young winger, Adrian Hand was released to score in the first few minutes.

The conversion was missed but it was not too long before Stroud had Chinnor reeling, with antipodean Mark Page bursting through to touch down giving Julian Harry a simple conversion.

Stung into action, Chinnor mounted some solid drives and forced Stroud back with only stout defending holding good the line.

Chinnor continued to press though, and eventually Gary Porter was driven over by his pack for a try which Dave Cook converted. Stroud's lead was then totally squandered when pacey winger Charlie Oyebade darted over in the corner.

Stroud counter-attacked and were unfortunate not to be awarded a try following a clever move down the right. However, the referee cliamed to be unsighted.

Stroud did retake the lead with a Steve Thompson drop goal but a Chinnor penalty levelled the score at 15-15 to end an evenly contested and entertaining first half.

The second half was a different story with Chinnor asking most of the questions, pinning Stroud deep in their own half.

All too often Stroud tried to run the ball from deep instead of using the lines and were regularly caught in possession. Pressure told and Chinnor took the lead with a penalty from Dave Cook.

Shortly after, Stroud suffered another blow when they lost their captain, Stewart Cale, with a nasty wound to the head.

Although 19 stone of Ben Guy replaced him, the reshuffled pack never really got to grips with Chinnor and Jon Brooks took advantage of confusion in Stroud's defence when he went over. Dave Cook added the conversion.

Stroud's pack was visibly tiring and only good work from the backs allowed some breathing space as Stroud eventually pushed upfield.

Sadly their efforts were undone when following an untidy Stroud scrum, the ball was lost in contact and Charlie Oyebade collected and sprinted away down his wing to score in the corner. A fine conversion from Dave Cook added two more points.

With Stroud now three scores down and the clock ticking, it was a hopeless task. Rob James was having an excellent game at number eight, but disappointingly was often left isolated.

Tired forwards allowed Chinnor in for a third and final try from Oyebade, Dave Cook adding the conversion along with a late penalty.

Although Stroud were missing a couple of regulars this was a disappointing result.

A super first half performance, where Stroud dominated for lengthy periods, was lost against a team who were well organised, confident and patently fitter.

Stroud's web site is almost fully updated now and can be reached on www.stroudrfc.co.uk