Stroud 11

Chew Valley 27

STROUD fought bravely, but eventually had to concede to a powerful Somerset side, writes Sean Moore.

Stroud won an equal amount of ball through the efforts of their pack at set pieces and at the breakdown, but Chew were able to put their possession to better use and some of their attack and counter-attack moves were breathtaking.

Chew’s full-back was the game’s outstanding player, seemingly able to make 50 or 60 metres every time the ball came to him.

A Sam Hester penalty goal opened the scoring, 3-0. This followed good running from Carl Ranscombe at full-back and Joe Hoyle at scrum-half.

Chew replied with a try from their strong winger who barrelled his way through two tackles to go over in the corner, 3-5. Stroud briefly regained the lead with another Hester penalty, 6-5. This was after Sam Leworthy had set up the position with a strong run through the centre but Chew quickly regained the lead with a penalty, 6-8.

The Stroud pack were slowly getting the measure of their opponents and forceful runs by their impact players gave cause for hope but their efforts were dashed when some porous tackling led to another converted try by Chew, 6-15.

Kurtis Herbert came on and was prominent with his strong, direct running but, although camped on the line, Stroud were unable to gain a touchdown.

Ollie Smith came on to bolster the Stroud cause and several scrums were won against the head. Stroud opted for scrums instead of kicks at goal, but this did not result in any score. Chew, having weathered the storm, scored two quick tries to give them a comfortable lead of 6-27.

Stroud gained a well-deserved consolation try by Kurtis Herbert to bring the final score to 11-27.

Stroud U14s rugby squad have made it through to the Gloucestershire County Cup Final vs Clifton from Bristol. Kick-off is Sunday, April 29 at Hartpury College, 11am.