***Saints shock Stamford in bid for survival***

Saints took to the field with hopes of gaining a try scoring bonus point against title contenders Stamford RUFC on Saturday and didn’t expect to get much else out of the game given the recent run of victories their opposition had been enjoying.

On a bright and slightly breezy Spring day, Saints started positively by building phases, controlling possession and territory in the opening 10 minutes. A rare handling error sparked a counter attacking opportunity for the visitors and they touched down under the posts. Conversion missed! 0-5. Saints conceded again in similar fashion having done well to get back into the game again...conversion successful 0-12.

A calm and collected Saints side then set about asserting their dominance in the match. Having shored up their set piece and lowered their tackling height, Saints won the ball in midfield and launched a counter attack of their own. Callum Austen passed wide to Rhod Howcroft who split the defence and found Rory Dingemans in space behind the gain line to cross the whitewash. Conversion missed. 5-12.

From the resulting kick off Saints gathered some more momentum with big carries from Johnny Berwick and Ross Hubbard getting Saints within scoring distance and Reece Gratton duly obliged, bundling over in the corner for his first try for the 1st XV. Conversion missed (extreme gust of wind). 10-12.

In the major turning point of the first half, Stamford’s loosehead was sent to the bin for repeat offences at the breakdown, a common theme for the day. Frustratingly for the away side, this forced them to make changes in the pack that left the referee with no option but to continue the scrum uncontested.

With a couple of minutes left on the clock for the half and a considerable numerical advantage, Saints gathered well from the kick off and again built phase after phase. This time round, play had started to slow and it seemed like Saints we’re happy to wait out the half. George Osborne, on the other hand, had other ideas. The short but deceptively strong centre stood two defenders up with big hand offs, broke free of the defence and applied the afterburners to glide over the try line. Conversion missed (it really was gusty). 15-12 as the half time whistle rang out at the Common.

With the elemental advantage at their backs, playing in front of a large home crowd and having rattled the opposition in the first half the Saints took the bull by the horns. Osborne added a second score to his tally for the day, again fending off tackles and breaking clear. Howcroft added the extras (had to happen some time!) and Saints opened up a 10 point lead at 22-12.

With great lineout form and relentless competition at the breakdown from Jack Hayward, Saints kept the visitors at bay while they tried to build some momentum of their own. Saints were unlucky to lose Karl Sinclair to the sin bin for 10 minutes. From the resulting penalty Stamford kicked to the corner and reverted to type, scoring a boring catch and drive in the corner. Conversion missed. 22-17.

Enter: Aiden Jordan. The ever influential utility maestro had been having a quiet game until the 55 minute mark and decided to open the taps, test the opposition defence out wide and repeatedly dominate the contact area. Unsurprisingly, he eventually broke free and scored under the posts. Howcroft dutifully added the extras (what’s going on!). 29-17.

Stamford scored again in the corner with the referee rightly giving the attacking side the advantage in a 50/50 decision as to whether the scorer had finished before entering touch. Conversion missed. 29-22.

Sinclair came back from the bin and Saints brought their finishers on from the bench and set about shutting the game down. Barnaby Dingemans was a nuisance for the opposition at every breakdown and Jordan Rook followed suit in the tackle, forcing the opposition to hand over possession on several occasions. Aiden Jordan needed no invitation when the space opened up out wide and scored from an efficient counter attack having been released by Callum Austen. Conversion missed (sun was in my eyes). 34-22.

With time running out, the hosts were keen to make a statement for their relegation rivals and kept knocking at the door. Joe Sales made hard yards in the loose, followed by Nick Ashford and even winger, Aedan Pearsall, fancied getting in on the act by making yards in the red channel. After several phases of pressure, Saints were stopped millimetres from the line. With the rest of the Saints lined up in midfield orchestrating how they would capitalise on their field advantage, Phill Fernie threw impressive scrum-half Will Smith out of the way and picked from the base to score his longest distance effort for many seasons, tripping over the breakdown and dotting down right in the corner. In a desperate attempt for kicking redemption, Howcroft slotted the conversion to make the final score 41-22.

After a couple of desperate minutes of Stamford possession, the final whistle echoed around the park. Saints continue to fight for survival. Stamford, as a result of their loss to a side they rightly expected to beat, can no longer win the league.