2 days Ago By [email protected] (James Bedford)
Stamford suffered a narrow 24-22 away reversal to return with two bonus points from their Counties 1 Midlands East (South) trip to Biggleswade on Saturday. Circumstances meant that a much-changed side from the previous week travelled to take on a club that had been promoted the previous season. It didn’t take long for Stamford to settle into the game and, when the opportunity presented itself, Rob Hesford broke from his own half to charge upfield and brush off tackles to score a great individual try.
The home side began to put together some good phases of play which resulted in a try of their own to level the scores at 5-5. It was Biggleswade who were getting the upper hand and a penalty followed by a converted try saw the scoreboard move to 15-5. Town got back into it and a move involving Martin, Hesford and Jones released young full back Freddie Chapman on a run in to score.
George Cully added the conversion to make it 15-12. The home side kicked off and Stamford ran the ball straight back at them and again put the rapid Chapman over for a try. But it was Biggleswade who had the final say with a penalty just before half-time to make the score at the interval 18-17.
The game was now being played in a fast and open style with both sides defending well as Stamford worked their way to the line but were held up just short. From a scrum, Town moved the ball wide to Freddie Hill who beat the opposition on the outside before being brought down. Crucially he was not held in the tackle and sprung up to make to the line for a try and secure the bonus point.
Both sides were now giving 100 percent in all aspects and, when the hosts were awarded a penalty, they took the three points on offer to make the score 21-22. Stamford had to rearrange due to injury and Mike Kendall came close but was stopped short. As the game entered its final stage, Biggleswade were throwing everything into attack but Stamford's tackling was tremendous.
The home side kept pressing and in the final minutes Dave Martin was given a yellow card for a deliberate knock on and they kicked the resulting penalty and closed the game off at 24-22. Stamford can take a lot of credit from this performance and came away with two bonus points to show for a tremendous team effort. Their next game is back at Stamford on Saturday against early league leaders Newbold in what promises to be a highly competitive match.
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