Stafford u14s show their determined side

Strong defensive display undone by some good Stoke attacking moves

After a fantastic trip to a Leicester coaching clinic and the premiership game against Wasps on the Saturday, Stafford u14s hosted Stoke u14s on a wet Sunday morning. The visitors are one of the strongest u14s sides in the county and would have been expecting to put a big score on Stafford given their previous record against us and the previous weeks display against Tamworth. However, this did not happen.

The first half was almost exclusively played in the middle of the pitch. Stoke tried everything to break through the determined Stafford defense. They tried bashing through the middle, throwing the ball out wide, miss moves and loops but nothing was working for them. Stafford were in the Stoke lad's faces and going toe to toe with them at every breakdown and making some heroic tackles. However, the last play of the half did see Stoke cross the line from a penalty 5 meters from the Stafford line. The first half finished with Stoke leading 5-0.

The 2nd half started with Stoke catching the Stafford team a little cold and they scored their 2nd try with a flowing backs move out wide. Stafford re-gathered themselves and pushed Stoke back into their own 22. A period of sustained pressure saw Stafford come very close to crossing the Stoke line only to knock the ball on just before scoring. As the half drew to a close Stoke got their final try from a breakaway after Stafford missed a few tackles as they started to tire. The game finished 0-15 to Stoke.

To a boy everyone on the Stafford side put in a huge amount of effort and in what at times was a bad tempered game, they all kept their cool and observed the rugby core values or respect, discipline, teamwork and sportsmanship. All the parents and coaches were immensely proud of the team and they way they played. Despite the scoreline it was one of the best performances of the season and just goes to show that its not the result that matters most, its the way you play.

Well done boys a fantastic performance and back on track for the rest of the season

Mark