Stags made it two wins out of two with a well earned victory, perhaps the only disappointment being the concession of a last minute try after 80 minutes of generally sound and committed defence.
What was particularly encouraging for Stags was that all 3 of their tries came from backs; indeed they were superior throughout behind the scrum but were not quite able to capitalise on this advantage so as to put Casuals out of sight.
Stags had all the early pressure but didn’t score. Then half way through the first period, good running and sure interpassing from half way between Charlie Cook and Neil Welsh put the latter in for an excellent score. Casuals could not take advantage when Benny Giglio had an enforced ten minutes rest and a Damien Whales penalty left Stags comfortable at 8-0 at the break.
On a hot afternoon, Stags looked impressive when they were able to put some pace on the game; Quick ruck ball and simple passing down the line gave Cook a second try. Given their good tackling, it was a surprise when suddenly the seas parted to allow the Casuals prop to stroll over. 13-5 happily became 18-5 when Whales dummied and weaved for a solo try and then 21-5 when he kicked a further penalty.
Though it would have been satisfying to have limited their opponents to single figures, Casuals dented that ambition at the last but a 9 point winning margin for a second successive week leaves Stags in good heart for the demanding two away games coming up.
This was a team effort by Stags but in both this match and at Leicester Forest, Ben Strangeways stood out for his tackling, following up and all round tenacity.
A satisfactory afternoon all round for Stags, with the 2nd XV, containing 5 players age 18 or under, beating Northampton Heathens 14-5 in the East Midlands Merit table.
Next Saturday all three sides play Wellingborough, the first and second XV’s away, the Vets at home for their first match of the season.
A youthfull Stags 2's took to the field against Northampton Heathens in their second East Midlands Merit table match determined to get a result. Having lost 28-10 to ON's the previous week with a brave but somewhat disjointed performance. Heathens large pack put Stags under pressure in the scrum early on, but resolute tackling and mercurial lineout work from veteran 2nd row James Pinkney kept Stags in the game. Heathens scored a try just before half time capatalising on poor midfield allignment. This galvanised Stags who in the 2nd half upped the pace whilst Heathens large forwards tired. A period of sustained pressure led to Pinkney going over for a try. Stags kept going forward and but for some poor final passes would have racked up a number of tries. Heathens now feeling the pressure conceded a number of penalties 3 of which were which were converted by 17yr old Wayne Bradley to ensure a deserved win. With the 1st team calling on the services of a number of players this was a good performance for Stags. The five Colts in the team, Rob Balchin, Graham Paigton, Mikailo, Bradley and Sam Hart performed very well. The backs looked sharp and with a bit more playing time will score plenty of tries this year. Special thanks to veterans Spanner, John Mayfield and Peter O'Connor who performed admirably.
MOTM- Graham Paigton, James Pinkney.
Team. Paul Manchett, Graham Paigton, John Mayfield, Spanner, James Pinkney, Adam Wells,Peter O'Connor, Rob Balchin, Chris Durrant, Mikailo, Nick Wilcox, Chip Wood, Steve Hills, Ben Crean, Sam Barnard, Sam Hart, Wayne Bradley.
