Stroud 2nds 10 Newent Phoenix 25

ON a windswept and showery afternoon, Stroud kicked off toward the Bath Road end and kept Newent well in their own half in the opening minutes, reports PHIL DANDO.

However, they lost possession and Sam Woolley fell on the loose ball to set up a counter for the visitors, before the ball was fed to Adrian Connelly, who outpaced the initial defence before switching on the afterburners to beat the cover to touch down beneath the posts.

Fly-half Henry Howe made no mistake with the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

And a jackal by Newent stalwart Tommy Devries soon halted Stroud attempts to hit back, although in doing so the influential player suffered a leg injury which signalled the end of his match.

But flanker Josh Ormond won another jackal and penalty on his own 22 which Howe promptly put into touch inside the Stroud 22.

Stroud were adjudged offside soon after and Howe made no mistake with the penalty kick for 10-0.

Almost from the kick-off the hosts were penalised, and then punished when Howe put the ball into their 22 for a 50-22.

From the ensuing line out, hooker Tyler Keveren found Woolley and the ball was spread wide to Connelly who was over the line in a flash for 15-0.

A good tackle by Connelly then saved an almost certain Stroud try, before the hosts were unlucky to be penalised for a knock-on when it seemed a Newent hand was involved.

Just before half-time Newent lost a second Devries brother to injury as Jordan left the field, just as he was beginning to make his physical presence felt.

But after the break, Howe put the ball deep into Stroud territory, after which the home side struggled to get out of their half.

They eventually won a penalty on the halfway line though, and put the ball deep into Newent territory.

From there they won a ruck and Alex Hoyle was able to break away and score about 15 metres in from touch for 15-5.

Stroud soon had the ball back inside the Newent half, and after a chip ahead, and sharp follow up, Aiden Riley got the ball down over the visitors' line, again about 15m in from touch to make it 15-10.

At this stage, with a wiley old pack causing the mostly youthful Newent eight all sorts of problems, it looked like the hosts might go on to cause an upset.

But another great kick-off saw Newent win possession and, with another carry by Sean Barriskel, the visitors were able force a penalty which Howe converted for 18-10.

Newent had steadied the ship and a soft yellow card given to a Stroud player didn’t help the visitors' cause.

And a sharp break by Howe was halted just short of the line, before the ball was fed out to Barriskel who crashed over just to the right of the posts, with Howe making no mistake with the conversion for a 25-10 win.

Neither Newent or Ross-on-Wye 1st XVs had a game on Saturday, but the latter were forced to cancel all training and home games over the weekend to preserve the pitches, having “taken an absolute hammering with the weather”.

Newent 1sts host Bournville this Saturday (January 31), while Ross host Minchinhampton.