Stroud power home (From Stroud News and Journal)

Stroud power home

Powergen Intermediate Cup Grove 24 Stroud 40

ALTHOUGH a couple of regular faces were missing Stroud put on a good display going into the next round by beating Grove by six tries to three.

An astonishing start saw Stroud scamper into a twenty one point lead inside ten minutes of the kick - off to leave Grove bemused.

First, Brian Pearse touched down under the posts on the end of some fine handling, then Lyle Robertson meandered through some sloppy defence followed by a Julian Harry effort, also converted all three tries.

Perhaps Stroud's clinical start led to complacency because Grove clawed their way back with a decent move that brought in Nick Sevier who scored, Dave Margon converted.

With Grove getting the better of scrums they were able to create a second score, this time Dave Johnson touched down, Margon added the extras that along with a late penalty gave them a chance down 21-17 at the break.

Johnson put Grove in front soon after the restart, Margon added the conversion before Stroud came to their senses. Callum Gibbs was having a fine game at scrum-half alongside his mentor John Farr. Between the two they put Grove on the back-foot and from broken play they retook the lead.

The game was getting fractious, and as Pearse fought his own battle elsewhere on the field the referee preferred to gaze on at Julian Harry's strike out wide.

Pearse's cavalry arrived to even the numbers at his private contest, a disinterested Harry got on with converting the try. Farr, maintaining his position as Stroud's leading try scorer, chalked up another score as Grove began to fold, Harry added two more points to his days collection.

Dave Clutterbuck put the game beyond doubt when he reached out to score after a barging run off the back of a punishing forwards drive to the line.